Willa, a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, veered inland near the town of Teacapan, about 60 miles (100 km) south of the coastal resort of Mazatlan in the state of Sinaloa, satellite images showed.
Dousing the Pacific coast with heavy rain, Willa by early evening had maximum sustained winds of about 120 miles per hour (193 kph) with higher gusts, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Forecast to be one of the most powerful hurricanes to enter Mexico from the Pacific in recent years, Willa was due to weaken fast as it moved inland.
The storm was about 50 miles (80 km) south of Mazatlan, the center said. It was heading north-northeast at 10 miles per hour (16 kph).
The hurricane center warned that locals should not venture into the “relative calm” of the hurricane’s eye, where winds could suddenly increase.
The storm had reached rare Category 5 status on Oct. 22 with winds near 160 mph (260 kph) before it weakened.
Roads near Mazatlan’s historic city center were nearly deserted as rains grew stronger, bending palm trees. The city’s main convention center, designated a shelter, filled with 182 people looking for safety.
“My house is made of sheet metal, wood and cardboard, and I’m scared it would fall on top of me,” said Rosa Maria Carrillo, 36, at the shelter with her five children, aged 8 to 15. “Hopefully this is just a bit of water, nothing more.”
A fleet of trucks owned by state electricity company CFE stood in the parking lot, ready to repair fallen powerlines.
Several other tourist getaways in the state of Nayarit as well as the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state lie in Willa’s path, which is forecast to bring a life-threatening storm surge of ocean water, wind and rainfall.
