Dangerous Cat 4 Hurricane Willa closes in on Mexico coast
235 views · Published 28 October 2018 · 2:33 · Indexed 28 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(23 Oct 2018) Authorities rushed to evacuate low-lying areas and set up shelters as an "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Willa with winds of 145 mph (230 kph) headed toward a Tuesday afternoon landfall along a stretch of Mexico's Pacific coast dotted with high-rise resorts, surfing beaches and fishing villages. Forecasters said Willa would blow ashore in late afternoon somewhere along a 140-mile (220-kilometer) stretch from the resort city of Mazatlan to San Blas. About 60 miles (100 kilometers) up the coast in Mazatlan, with a metropolitan-area population of about 500,000, Mayor Jose Joel Boucieguez said officials prepared shelters and were closely monitoring low-lying areas. Willa briefly reached Category 5 strength, then weakened a bit to Category 4. But the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that it still was likely to bring "life-threatening storm surge, wind and rainfall" to parts of west-central and southwestern Mexico. Workers taped up windows in hotels and officials ordered schools closed in a low-lying region where towns sit amid farmland tucked between the sea and lagoons. Officials said 7,000 to 8,000 people were being evacuated from low-lying areas, mostly in Sinaloa state. Mazatlan is a popular vacation spot and home to a large number of American and Canadian expatriates. Late Monday, Willa was centered about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of the Islas Marias and 195 miles (310 kilometers) south-southwest of Mazatlan. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/196cdf8ff232a8d4587b6ac5af136694
