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Hurricane John pummels Mexican coastline

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 2, 2006

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico - Hurricane-force winds slammed into the southern tip of Baja California on Friday night, as a powerful Pacific storm forced tourists to take shelter in luxury hotel ballrooms and local residents in vacant schoolhouses.

Hurricane John, packing sustained winds of 110 mph, was churning near the tip of Baja, and its outer edge was already being felt on land, forecasters said.

Bands of steady rain swelled normally dry stream beds and ran down some streets as the eye of the Category 2 hurricane drew within about 25 miles of San Jose del Cabo on Friday night. John wasn't likely to affect the United States; cooler Pacific waters tend to diminish storms before they reach California.

The resort cities of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of the Baja peninsula are studded with high-end golf courses and are popular with sports fishermen and celebrities.

Winds toppled the signs of shops and businesses, and sent metal gates flying in San Jose del Cabo, while bands of rain swept ashore in nearby Cabo San Lucas.

On Friday, thousands of tourists who couldn't get flights out prepared to ride out the storm. As many as 8,000 tourists remained in Cabo San Lucas.

Miles from the coastal hotels, 46-year-old Francisco Casas Perez sat outside a schoolroom where he and his 14-year-old son spent the night. They were evacuated from their tin-roofed shack near Cabo San Lucas.

"We've been asking God to not let it hit too hard," he said. "We could lose all our possessions."

Officials closed the airport Thursday night, ending a mad scramble for last-minute flights, and driving out wasn't an option for many - the one, narrow road north stretches 400 miles to Tijuana on the U.S. border.

The National Hurricane Center warned that John could fuel storm surges of 5 feet and bring 6 to 10 inches of rain, possibly causing "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides" over mountainous areas.

[Last modified September 2, 2006, 01:11:27]