Hurricane John forces Mexican resort evacuations

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LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) -- Luxury hotels sent foreign tourists home as powerful Hurricane John took aim at Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Thursday, and the government ordered 10,000 local residents into shelters.

At least three hotels in the posh Los Cabos resort, popular with U.S. tourists and famed for its beaches and Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses, arranged flights home for tourists before the storm hits on Friday.

"We are evacuating everyone," said Mithza Velazquez, concierge at the beachfront Hilton Hotel in Los Cabos. (Watch Mexico brace for Hurricane John -- :58)

John is a Category 3 hurricane, packing sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) and stronger gusts. The Miami, Florida-based National Hurricane Center forecast the storm will make a direct hit on the resort. (Path)

"We are trying to evacuate as many guests as possible," said Martin Guillen, spokesman of the Casa del Mar hotel, next to the Hilton in Los Cabos.

"We are trying to convince people that they should leave for their own safety," he said in an interview. "The vast majority have changed their flights and are leaving today."

Mexican residents of low-lying areas of Los Cabos will also be evacuated from their homes on Thursday, by force if necessary, said Jose Gajon, head of civil protection for the state of Baja California Sur.

"Those who do not want to leave will be taken away by the army," Gajon said. "The number to be evacuated could rise."

Most of the resort's hotels have their own shelters where tourists could ride out the storm if they preferred.

Lashing rains

Hurricane John lashed beaches and ports with torrential rain on Mexico's mainland on Thursday morning as it barreled toward Los Cabos.

Residents in the busy port of Manzanillo, a favorite spot for U.S. and Canadian fishermen, boarded up doors and windows as John churned off the Pacific Coast.

But the storm was just far enough out in the ocean to spare them its full fury.

The center of Hurricane John swirled northwestward off the mainland about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Manzanillo.

The top concern of emergency teams was Los Cabos, which Gajon said would be evacuated during daylight hours.

"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the U.S. Hurricane Center said.

After slamming into Los Cabos, the storm was expected to spin back out into the Pacific, posing no threat to the United States.

In October, Hurricane Wilma smashed up Cancun and other beach resorts on Mexico's Caribbean coast. It caused massive damage, sucking away large stretches of beach and stranding tens of thousands of tourists in makeshift shelters for days.

Mexico's rescue services have vastly improved their hurricane response plans in recent years.

The hurricane center said John's winds and rains were strong enough to cause life-threatening flooding, severe damage to property and mud slides in mountainous areas.

Rainfall of 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm), with isolated deluges of 18 inches (45 cm), was possible along the coast.

The busy tourist resort of Acapulco had sea surges of up to 10 feet (3.5 meters) on Wednesday. Seafront roads were ankle-deep in water and people struggled to stay on their feet in winds that knocked down trees.

Meanwhile, the U.S. hurricane center issued a hurricane watch for a portion of coastline from South Carolina to North Carolina on Thursday as Tropical Storm Ernesto gained strength over the Atlantic. (Full story)

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