by David SANTA CRUZ
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Tropical Storm Newton grew into a hurricane on Monday as it rushed toward Mexico’s popular northwest resorts of Los Cabos, two years after powerful Odile wreaked havoc in the region.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion” in parts of the Baja California peninsula and that Newton would make landfall on Tuesday.
The Mexican government issued hurricane warnings for the west coast of the state of Baja California Sur as well as Cabo San Lucas in its southern tip, a favored destination of American tourists.
The Miami-based center said the eye of the storm was located about 215 miles (350 kilometers) southeast of Cabo San Lucas, with top winds of 75 miles per hour. It was moving northwestward at 16 miles per hour.
The hurricane is expected to be near or over the southern tip of the peninsula on Tuesday, US forecasters said.
Newton was expected to pick up more steam before making landfall.
“Winds are expected to first reach tropical storm strength by late tonight, making outside preparations difficult or dangerous,” the NHC said in a 2100 GMT bulletin.
The storm is expected to produce as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in several Pacific coast states, which could trigger life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, the center said.
A “dangerous” storm surge was expected to cause significant coastal flooding, it added.
Los Cabos was pummeled in September 2014 by Hurricane Odile, which left six people dead and millions of dollars in damage.
Damage in Acapulco
The weather system already caused damage in the south over the weekend before it became a tropical storm, with heavy rains blamed for three deaths in the southern state of Chiapas.
Floods and landslides damaged or affected some 70 homes and schools and trapped around 200 people in Acapulco, the resort in the southwestern state of Guerrero.
Torrential rains that began Saturday morning caused 33 landslides on highways in Guerrero.
Heavy rainfall trapped around 200 people in their housing complex, prompting air evacuations by police, marines and the army.
Hermine threat
While western Mexico was getting hammered with precipitation, the United States was spared the worst when Tropical Storm Hermine crashed ashore in Florida — a hurricane at the time — before moving out to sea.
The hurricane center warned that the post-tropical cyclone would cause a storm surge and tide that could flood normally dry areas in the northeastern United States.
Located some 175 miles southeast of the eastern tip of New York’s Long Island, Hermine packed sustained winds of 70 miles per hour but it was expected to weaken late Tuesday. The NHC earlier said it would remain near hurricane strength.
Tropical storm warnings were issued in Long Island as well as parts of the northeastern states of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Hermine killed two people after striking Florida on Friday before weakening to tropical-storm status as it moved north off the US East Coast.
It was Florida’s first hurricane landfall since 2005, causing street flooding and power outages.
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