Hurricane Rosa forms off Mexico's Pacific coast

by Staff Writers Mexico City (AFP) Sept 26, 2018 AFP

Hurricane Rosa formed Wednesday in the Pacific off the coast of northern Mexico, threatening a region already hit with flooding that has killed at least 10 people in recent days.

Rosa is the 10th hurricane of the eastern Pacific season, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

It strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane, and will continue intensifying to a Category 3 hurricane by Thursday, Mexico's National Meteorological Service (SMN) forecast.

It will weaken to a tropical storm again before making landfall on the Baja California peninsula on Monday, it forecast.

At 1500 GMT, the storm was located 820 kilometers (510 miles) west-southwest of the scenic beach resort of Manzanillo, traveling at 17 kilometers per hour, with winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gusts up to 150 kilometers per hour, the Meteorological Service said.

At least 10 people have died in recent days after heavy rain caused flash floods in the Pacific coast states of Michoacan and Sinaloa. Another 10 are missing.

"Because of the recent rains, the soil is saturated, mainly on the Pacific coast," said the SMN said.

"Extreme caution is recommended," it added, warning of the potential for landslides, road closures and further floods.