Hurricane Dolores gains strength off Mexico's west coast

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Hurricane Dolores is gaining strength off Mexico's Pacific Coast, meteorologists say.

The US National Hurricane Center said Dolores had reached a category four strength, the second highest.

At 09:00GMT it was 515km (320 miles) south of Cabo San Lucas.

Dolores was moving west-northwest, raising hopes that Mexico's Pacific coast would be spared major damage, although swells were already reaching parts of Baja California peninsula.

The US National Hurricane Center warned that they could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Meteorologists said Dolores's sustained winds had increased to 215 km/h (134 mph) with some higher gusts.

They said they expected Dolores to strengthen further over the next 24 hours.

Last September, parts of Baja California were destroyed when Hurricane Odile swept through the region.