Hurricane Dora strengthens off Mexican coast

MEXICO CITY: Hurricane Dora intensified Wednesday as it brushed southern Mexico, pounding resort coastlines with dangerous surf and bringing heavy rains and wind likely to last through the weekend, officials said.

Dora, about 355 kilometers (220 miles) south-southwest of the port city of Lazaro Cardenas, carried sustained winds of up to 150 kilometers (90 miles) per hour and could become a major hurricane by Thursday, US weather services said.

The storm -- the fourth hurricane of the 2011 Pacific season -- was churning along to the northwest at 30 kilometers (18 miles) per hour and in coming days would track parallel to the Mexican coast, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin.

Some NHC forecast models put the hurricane on track to affect the Baja California resort of Cabo San Lucas later in the week.

Mexico's National Weather Service issued tropical storm watches for the southern coast, warned that large waves and heavy rain were pounding the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, and advised vessels in the vicinity to take precautions against high seas and heavy winds.

Mexican authorities prepared for possible landslides in areas already pounded by heavy rains which left five dead and affected 200,000 people last weekend.

The 2011 season's first named storm, Arlene, left at least 16 people dead in Mexico after it drenched much of the country and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

Mexico last year suffered what the government described as the wettest rainy season on record.

Tropical storms and hurricanes caused flooding and mudslides that killed 125 people, left hundreds of thousands homeless, and caused damage of more than $4 billion.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011