By Aida Pelaez-Fernandez
Sept 29 (Reuters) – Hurricane Polo brought heavy rains to the southern half of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula early Tuesday and forecasters expect it to make landfall in the state of Sonora in the next few hours.
Polo, a category 1 hurricane, is forecast to hit the Sonoran coastal city of Guaymas between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. local time (1400-1500 GMT), the head of Mexico’s civil protection agency, Laura Velazquez, said at a press conference.
Polo is packing maximum sustained winds near 75 mph (120 kph) with higher gusts, having weakened substantially from a category 5 storm, the US National Hurricane Center said. The storm’s heavy rainfall raises the risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides in Baja California Sur and Sonora, the NHC said.
Baja California Sur Governor Victor Manuel Castro said no lives were lost due to the storm.
The storm was expected to dump 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) of rain across Baja California Sur and up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain in Sonora, with a risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, according to the NHC.
Nearly 700 people sought refuge in emergency shelters in Baja California Sur, and will be returning to their homes throughout the day, Velazquez added.
Polo is still expected to remain a hurricane when it makes landfall in mainland Mexico, after crossing the Gulf of California.
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez in Barcelona; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Rod Nickel)
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