Mexico braces for Hurricane Raymond

 Man cleans the beach in Acapulco Mexico City - Arab Today Hurricane Raymond weakened and parked off Mexico's Pacific coast Tuesday as authorities urged tourists to stay indoors and evacuated some residents to avoid a new disaster in the storm-battered region. Some 1,500 people left their homes in the states of Guerrero and Michoacan while beach plans were upended for tourists seeking sun in the resorts of Zihuatanejo and Acapulco. Mexican officials said the hurricane's movements were "erratic" while the US National Hurricane Center said the storm could creep closer to the coast before taking a sharp westward turn out to sea on Wednesday. Raymond weakened from Category Three to Category Two on the five-level Saffer-Simpson scale, with top winds slowing to 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour, and was expected to lose more steam, the US forecasters said. Raymond was nearly stationary 85 miles (135 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo, the Miami-based center said. The Mexican National Water Commission urged the population to keep following government alerts despite the storm's weakening since it was still producing rain in much of the country. The country is still reeling from floods and landslides unleashed by tropical storms Manuel and Ingrid last month which left 157 people dead. The new hurricane flooded some streets in Acapulco, one month after Manuel trapped thousands of tourists in the resort. Further west in Zihuatanejo, the tourists who made it to the coastal town were asked to stay in their hotels. "We didn't know about the hurricane," said Erin Hopkins, a tourist from the northwestern US city of Seattle, eating dinner with her husband and another couple as they watched the constant rain dropping in the ocean. "We're eating something quickly before returning to our room," she said in the sparsely occupied Villa Mexicana Hotel. Fishermen docked their boats after many fellow seamen lost their vessels during Manuel's passage. "Everybody has bought food supplies to last a week. God willing this won't get ugly," said tuna fisherman Leonardo Gutierrez. Authorities evacuated more than 1,000 people from coastal towns in Guerrero while soldiers helped 400 more leave their homes in neighboring Michoacan. Schools closed for 35,000 children and ports were shut down. Manuel was particularly vicious in Guerrero's mountains, producing a major landslide that buried much of a village, leaving scores missing. Bartola Hernandez, a grandmother caring for four children, took no chances and left her mountain town to take refuge in a shelter in Zihuatanejo after Manuel already wrecked her home. "When I heard the mayor's warning on the radio, I didn't hesitate. I grabbed my children and went down in a civil protection truck," she said. In Manuel's aftermath, some 5,000 people are still living in shelters in Guerrero and 5,000 other families may have to be relocated. Despite his warnings, Zihuatanejo Mayor Eric Fernandez was concerned that few people were heeding his call to take refuge as he addressed some 100 people at a shelter. "If you need us to go get a relative or a neighbor, please tell us," he said. Source: AFP