Mexico’s West coast prepares for Willa hurricane

Although it downgraded to category 4 yesterday, the hurricane Willa still poses a threat to the shores of Sinaloa and Nayarit , where it is set to strike land today, along with the tropical storm Vicente , which continues to move forward, though weakening little by little, towards the state of Nayarit, according to the National Weather Service .

This morning, Willa was located 93 miles off Cabo Corrientes , Jalisco, moving north at 8 miles per hour . It is likely to strike land this afternoon on the Escuinapa municipality in Sinaloa .

According to the Ministry of Interior , a total of 19 municipalities declared a state of emergency: 12 in Nayarit and 7 in Sinaloa , in order to receive resources from the Emergency Attention Fund (FONDEN) .

President Enrique Peña Nieto

has announced the installation of the National Emergency Committee to keep the population safe from both the hurricane and the tropical storm.

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) assured that a contingency plan had already been implemented in the states of Coahuila, Durango, Sinalia, Colima, Nayarit, and Jalisco , prepared with 2,011 electricians, 795 cars, 422 cranes, 143 emergency plants, and two helicopters .

The governments of Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco have ordered to suspend classes since yesterday along the coastal region and begun preparing emergency shelters for the arrival of Willa.

In Mazatlán, Sinaloa , the Harbor Master ordered a navigation shutdown for all types of vessels and the arrival of two international flights was cancelled.

The mayor of Mazatlán, José Joel Bouciéguez , claimed that although the situation was not critical in the city, shelters had already been prepared and authorities are currently guarding 12 neighborhoods in the lowlands.

The councilman of Escuinapa, Hugo Enrique Moreno Guzmán , announced the evacuation of at least 10 thousand people from several communities and local authorities are currently waiting for support from the army and the navy.

In Nayarit, the state government plans to evacuate between 10 and 15 thousand people from the Acaponeta and Tecuala municipalities . However, the statesman Antonio Echevarría García acknowledged that the state didn’t have the capacity to provide shelters for so many people, which is why he decided to request that citizens took shelter with families in other states.

As a preventive measure, Jalisco authorities decided to evacuate the hotel zone of Puerto Vallarta .

Meanwhile, two more deaths were registered in the state of Oaxaca due to the Vicente tropical storm . The number of deceased in the last five days now totals 12 .

In Guerrero , the storm left a toll of 13 damaged buildings and several landslides on roads.

Mexico's heavy rain is part of a 100 year cycle, experts say

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