Mexico prepared Friday for a powerful Pacific hurricane that triggered a warning of “potentially catastrophic” flooding in a northwestern tourist region and the neighboring US state of California.<\/p>\n
Hurricane Hilary threatened to bring strong winds, flash floods and “life-threatening” surf and rip current conditions, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.<\/p>\n
“We’ve already had to live through similar experiences. We know what can happen to us. We must be prepared with food, canned goods and candles,” Marlen Hernandez, a 30-year-old restaurant worker, told AFP.<\/p>\n
Hilary’s maximum sustained winds reached about 145 miles (230 kilometers) an hour before slowing slightly on Friday, according to the NHC.<\/p>\n
It was a Category Four hurricane — the second-most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale of one to five.<\/p>\n
“Life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding” was likely over much of Baja California and southern California this weekend and early next week, the NHC warned.<\/p>\n
Residents and workers in Cabo San Lucas put up protective boarding, laid sandbags and stored furniture in preparation, as large waves crashed ashore.<\/p>\n