HURRICANE Lorena was downgraded to a tropical storm as it swirled in the Gulf of California off northwest Mexico yesterday after making landfall near the Los Cabos beach resort, said the Mexican storm monitor.

With maximum sustained winds of 85kph, Lorena is expected to bring heavy rains to Baja California Sur and the neighbouring state of Sinaloa as it moves north at 19kph, said Conagua.

The hurricane’s centre will again “make landfall on Saturday night or Sunday morning in Bahia Kino, Sonora”.

“Landslides, along with river and stream overflows that affect roads and highways, could be recorded due to the rains, along with flooding in low-lying areas and saturation of drains in urban sites.”

No damage or death was reported after Lorena made landfall on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane at the tourist hotspot of Los Cabos in Baja California.

The US-based National Hurricane Centre said Lorena is forecast to “cross the northwestern coast of mainland Mexico” today, with a rapid weakening anticipated thereafter.

In Mexico’s Baja California Sur, state authorities have opened shelters, while the government in Sonora closed several ports.

Mexico’s location makes it vulnerable to hurricanes on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts. – AFP, September 22, 2019.