By Daniel Becerril
MANZANILLO, Mexico Oct 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane Simon is rapidly intensifying off Mexico's Pacific coast, packing sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph) as it churns toward a stretch of coastline dotted with beach resorts and fishing towns, the US National Hurricane Center said on Friday.
Simon, nearing Category 3 strength, is forecast to become a dangerous Category 4 by Saturday as it approaches Mexico's southwestern and west-central Pacific coast, one of the country's most popular tourist regions, the NHC said.
"Simon could deliver the most significant hurricane impact to this stretch of the Mexican Pacific coast since Lidia in 2023, which damaged thousands of homes and devastated crops along the Jalisco coast," said Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Simon is expected to make landfall on Sunday between Manzanillo — Mexico’s largest port and the main gateway for trade with Asia — and Puerto Vallarta, a popular beach destination and home to nearly 300,000 residents.
In Manzanillo, fishermen were hauling their boats off the beach and authorities were putting up black flags along the coast to signal the beach was closed.
The Mexican Navy activated emergency response personnel in Colima and restricted maritime traffic along parts of the Pacific coast, closing ports to smaller vessels and barring larger vessels from operating in Michoacan.
Simon was about 195 miles (315 km) south of Manzanillo in the afternoon and crawling northwest, according to the NHC.
Forecasters warned that Simon could bring life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with isolated rainfall totals reaching 30 inches (762 mm) in parts of Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit.
Mexican authorities warned that heavy rainfall was expected in the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco.
Last week, Hurricane Polo made landfall on the Baja California Peninsula as a Category 2 storm, toppling trees and utility poles, flooding streets and causing other property damage.
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez in Barcelona and Lizbeth Diaz, Diego Oré, Natalia Siniawski and Paolo Laudani in Mexico City; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Bill Berkrot and Edmund Klamann)
