With wind gusts of up to 185 km / h, against 215 km / h the day before, the hurricane was however downgraded to category 3. At 6 p.m. GMT on Saturday, Hilary was 570 km from Punta Eugenia, in the center of the Baja California Peninsula.
In the seaside resort of Los Cabos, in Baja California, popular with foreign tourists, businesses have been protected with sandbags and furniture placed under cover. “We took all the necessary measures last night, we are now taking care of the workers and making sure that, while waiting for the hurricane, everyone is well,” Omar Olvera, 34, told AFP on Saturday. years, employee of a restaurant located on the beach.
A country hit by tropical cyclones between May and November
“Yesterday we felt the wind picking up, it was finally less strong than expected, but we remain worried,” Marco Segura, 57, told AFP in Cerritos. Hilary is moving northwest and the center of the storm is expected to reach southern California overnight Sunday through Monday, according to the NHC.
It is the first hurricane of the season to make landfall on the Pacific side. “This hurricane will be a tropical storm on Sunday afternoon before reaching southern California,” according to the NHC forecast.
Mexican meteorological services predict heavy rains, accompanied by showers, in a dozen states. They call for the greatest caution due to a risk of mudslides and overflows of waterways.
Mexico is hit by tropical cyclones on its Pacific and Atlantic coasts every year, usually between May and November.