Weaker Jimena still makes waves

MEXICO CITY – Tourists took cover and thousands of residents moved to makeshift shelters Tuesday as Hurricane Jimena swiped at Baja California with strong winds, heavy surf and rain showers.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in and around Los Cabos, the popular tourist resort area on the tip of the peninsula that for several days had braced for the hurricane’s arrival.

Jimena, which weakened Tuesday to a Category 3 hurricane carrying winds of 120 miles per hour, was expected to remain at least 50 miles offshore as it swirled past the Los Cabos area on its way north. But the storm, whose winds had hit 155 miles per hour Monday, still carried destructive force well away from its core.

Mexican authorities declared a hurricane alert and set up shelters for residents of impoverished, flood-prone neighborhoods. By night, the storm was passing the peninsula’s southern tip. It was expected to drop five to 10 inches of rain over southern Baja California.

The hurricane is projected to come ashore by early Thursday at a sparsely inhabited zone about 200 miles north of Los Cabos.