MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (AP) — Rick strengthened to a hurricane Saturday off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast and is forecast to hit that coast by Monday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Rick may become a major hurricane with winds as high as 115 miles per hour (185 kph) before hitting land somewhere between the seaport of Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo.
The hurricane was located about 235 miles (380 kilometers) south of the coastal resort of Zihuatanejo.
The storm had winds of 75 mph (125 kph), and was moving north-northwest at 6 miles per hour (9 kph). The center warned Rick could produce flash flooding and mudslides.
It was expected to hit along a stretch of coast west of Zihuatanejo that holds no resorts but includes two major seaports and mountainous terrain that in the past has been very vulnerable to flash flooding and mudslides.
![In this photo released by The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, shows officials burning seized drugs in Niamey, Niger, Monday, June 26, 2023. Drug seizures soared in the West African Sahel region according to figures released Friday April 19, 2024 in a new U.N. report, indicating the conflict-ridden region is becoming an influential route for drug trafficking. In 2022, 1,466 kilograms, [3,232 pounds], of cocaine were seized in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger compared to an average of 13 kilograms [28.7 pounds] between 2013 and 2020 , said the report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. (UNODC via AP)](https://www.rochesterfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/66/2024/04/66227f218df888.95308299.jpeg?strip=1)
