Mexico

Hurricane Lidia makes landfall in Mexico resort hub as a Category 4 storm

The hurricane center warned of possible flash flooding and storm surge from the hurricane

Shopkeepers take precautions by protecting store entrances with sandbags in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco State, Mexico, on October 10, 2023.
ULISES RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images

Hurricane Lidia made landfall as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm Tuesday evening with winds of 140 mph (220 kph) near Mexico’s Pacific coast resort of Puerto Vallarta.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Lidia's eye appeared to have reached land near Las Penitas in the western state of Jalisco. The area is a sparsely populated peninsula. The storm is moving south of Puerto Vallarta, which could cushion the blow on the resort.

Local authorities canceled classes in communities around the coast. The expected impact comes one day after Tropical Storm Max hit the southern Pacific coast, hundred of miles away, and then dissipated. Rains from Max washed out part of a coastal highway in the southern state of Guerrero.

Lidia was centered Tuesday about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south-southwest of Puerto Vallarta, and was moving east-northeast at about 16 mph (26 kph).

The hurricane center warned of possible flash flooding and storm surge from the hurricane.

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