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Hurricane Lane builds near Mexico | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Hurricane Lane is gaining power as it roars up Mexico's Pacific coastline, and has now strengthened into a Category 2 storm, authorities said. | |
A hurricane warning was in effect for the tip of Baja California peninsula and the coast of Sinaloa state. | |
A seven-year-old boy reportedly died as a result of flooding in Acapulco. | |
Emergency workers, already exhausted by Hurricane John, which traced a similar path two weeks ago, said they were making all possible preparations. | |
At 1700 EDT (0100 GMT), Hurricane Lane was about 130km (80 miles) west-northwest of Cabo Corrientes - the cape off mainland Mexico's Jalisco province - said the US National Hurricane Center. | |
It was heading north-northwest at about 20km hour, packing sustained speeds of near 160km/h - making it a Category 2 hurricane. | |
Tourists scrambled to leave before the hurricane hit | |
The hurricane was predicted to remain offshore for at least the next 24 hours, but authorities warned a slight deviation from its predicted path could bring it ashore sooner than forecast. | |
Some tourists were taking no chances. | |
"I don't want to be here when the hurricane hits," Robert Compton, a 58-year-old retired plumber from Las Vegas, who was flying out of Los Cabos resort on the Baja California peninsula, told Reuters news agency. | |
Boarded up | |
In the path of Lane, authorities warned of storm surges and large, powerful waves. Heavy rain was also forecast. | |
Residents in the hurricane's projected path boarded up buildings and stocked up on emergency supplies. | |
"We're all tired but we're getting ready to face another one," Jose Garcia Gajon, civil protection head for the state of southern Baja California, told Reuters. | |
"We're going to prepare as if it were going to hit, because with these things, you don't mess around," he said. | |
Further south-west along the Mexican mainland coast, in Acapulco, a seven-year-old boy died in a landslide after the storm dumped the city with rain, officials said, the Associated Press news agency reported. | |
Flooding was also reported elsewhere in Guerrero province. |