MEXICO CITY, May 30, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The first hurricane of the Pacific
season, Agatha, was rapidly strengthening off the western coast of Mexico
where it is likely to strike Monday as a Category Three storm, the country's
weather service warned.

High sea temperatures and the hurricane's slow speed could give it plenty of
time to strengthen before it roars ashore, Alejandra Mendez, general
coordinator of Mexico's National Weather Service (SMN), said in a
videoconference.

As of Sunday afternoon, Agatha had already climbed to a Category Two storm on
the Saffir-Simpson scale as it churned some 295 kilometers (185 miles) west
of Puerto Angel, Mexico.

"It is forecast that the hurricane will probably make landfall as a Category
Three between Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, Oaxaca," said Mendez, adding
that she expected landfall Monday.

Agatha was packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour, while
moving north at about two kilometers per hour, according to a report by the
US National Hurricane Center (NHC) at 2100 GMT.

Authorities in Oaxaca, Guerrero and Chiapas states encouraged preventative
measures beginning Saturday, such as asking residents to safeguard property
near coastal areas and calling on the population to take shelter. They also
closed the ports of Oaxaca and Guerrero.

The popular surfing destinations of Puerto Escondido and Huatulco set up
temporary shelters with a capacity to house 26,800 people and arranged for
potential accommodations of another 5,200 in local hotels.

Mexico is buffeted by hurricanes on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts,
generally between the months of May and November.