Hurricane Norma makes landfall in Mexico as Category 1 storm

Hurricane Norma slammed into Mexico's northwestern coast Saturday afternoon as a Category 1 storm, bringing dangerous rain and flooding, authorities said.

The storm came ashore about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of the resort city of Cabo San Lucas on the Baja California coast, gradually weakening from a Category 3 as it approached land.

Norma was moving northeast at 9 kph, packing winds of up to 130 kph, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported at 2100 GMT.

Norma was expected to bring rainfall of up to 45 centimeters (18 inches), producing "flash and urban flooding, along with mudslides in areas of higher terrain," the NHC said.

"Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" would affect the coast of southwestern and west-central Mexico and Baja California Sur for the next couple of days.

Hotel employees in Cabo San Lucas urged guests to stay indoors until authorities give the all-clear, Gustavo Matamoros, a hotel worker, told AFP.

Local authorities say about 60,000 tourists are staying in the area, most of them international visitors.

Footage from Milenio TV showed flooded streets as Norma arrived. No casualties have been reported by authorities.

Norma should continue to weaken to a tropical storm as it moves toward the west coast of Mexico on Sunday.

Two people died last week when Hurricane Lidia struck the western states of Jalisco and Nayarit.

© Agence France-Presse