Hurricane Norbert batters Baja California and heads north-west [View all]

[malaise]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/06/hurricane-norbert-batters-baja-california
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Heavy rains brought by Hurricane Norbert prompted evacuations as the storm roared up the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Forecasters said the storm may help bring weekend precipitation to the parched US South-west.

The Baja California Sur state governor, Marcos Covarrubias, urged people in vulnerable areas to evacuate and said travellers should stay off highways as the storm passed by. He said most government services would be closed or restricted, and schools in Los Cabos and La Paz were closed on Friday.

At least 1,000 people remained in shelters on Friday evening in Los Cabos, where the storm toppled trees and knocked out electricity in parts of the resort area.

Firefighters rescued several people from vehicles stranded in flooded streets, said Wenceslao Pettit, public safety director in Cabo San Lucas.

Ports in the area popular with US tourists remained closed to navigation and police officers were sent to the evacuated neighbourhoods to prevent looting, Pettit added.

The US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said on Saturday morning that Norbert had strengthened with maximum sustained winds near 120mph (195 kph) and it was centred about 95 miles (155 kilometres) west of sparsely populated Cabo San Lázaro.