Hurricane Nora Gains Strength, Shifts North
Hurricane Nora strengthened Sunday as it shifted course and headed north toward the Baja California peninsula, threatening a half-dozen tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean.
The Mexican government posted hurricane warnings for the sparsely populated Socorro Island and nearby Revillagigedo Islands.
Flood warnings also remained in effect for hundreds of miles of Mexican coastline, from Cabo Corrientes to Punta Maldonado.
Churning surf and 12-foot waves generated by Nora have pounded beaches and damaged property along thousands of miles of coastline since the tropical storm was upgraded to a hurricane Thursday. There have been no deaths reported.
“This is a large and powerful hurricane,” said Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center in Miami in a telephone interview.
“If it does turn gradually (more) up to the north it will not only have winds and storm surges but could bring some very heavy rains over portions of Mexico,” Mayfield said.
At 10 a.m. PDT, Nora’s center was about 400 miles south of the tip of Baja California.
On Saturday, roiling surf washed away beaches, damaged beach houses and exposed the roots of scores of palm trees in the popular resort of Acapulco.
In the tiny Mexican state of Colima, authorities made preparations to evacuate residents after several dozen homes and other buildings were badly damaged by wind gusts and strong surf.
Mayor Carlos Cruz Mendoza said 15 homes, 19 shops and 13 guest houses were destroyed overnight in the coastal towns of Armeria and El Paraiso.
The mayor of nearby Tecoman, Maria Elena Espinoza, said the storm wrecked 26 restaurants in her town.
After crawling farther out over the Pacific since attaining hurricane force on Thursday, Nora veered northward early Sunday and began picking up speed.
Maximum sustained winds strengthened from 75 mph to 125 mph.