Red Alert. Waiting for hurricane Norbert in Baja California Sur (hurricane norbert filmed from my terrace..wmv)

uploaded by patgarcia October 11, 2008 at 10:47 am
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Today has been a day of normal activity in the city of La Paz as families get ready to receive Hurricane Norbert tonight or early Saturday morning . The atmosphere is that of tranquility knowing it has lowered its category. Most families are prepared with candles, flashlights, canned food, extra drinking water, corn flour to make tortillas at home. The list is diverse according to each family.

It is not raining or windy yet but very cloudy and "suffocated" as we say here. No wind at all before a hurricane.

LA PAZ, Mexico (Reuters) - Hurricane Norbert regained power as a Category 2 storm in the Pacific on Friday, churning towards Mexico's Baja California peninsula and forcing hundreds of people to flee to shelters.

Norbert was packing maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour) and was due to make landfall near the city of La Paz on Saturday, missing a direct hit on the beach resort of Los Cabos, a popular destination for U.S. tourists, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Centre.

Rescue authorities began evacuating people from low-lying areas on the western side of the peninsula, which is not home to oil installations, as the first rains lashed the coast.

"This is now upon us, we expect the worst on Saturday morning," said Jose Gajon, head of the Baja California Sur civil protection agency.

Norbert, which again became a Category 2 hurricane after weakening yesterday, may produce a storm surge of as high as 1.5 meters (5 feet) when it makes landfall, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on its Web site. The system was 395 kilometers southwest of Baja California shortly before 5 p.m. Miami time, and moving north at about 17 kph.

``Storm-surge flooding, along with large and dangerous battering waves, is expected along the west coast of the southern Baja peninsula near and to the southeast of where Norbert makes landfall,'' the advisory said.

Mexico declared a state of emergency for the municipalities of Loreto, Comondu and La Paz, and issued a hurricane warning for the western coast of the peninsula from Puerto San Andresito to Agua Blanca, meaning winds of at least 119 kph are expected within a day. A hurricane watch was in place from the warning zone south to the resorts around Cabo San Lucas and north to Loreto on the other side of Baja.

Cabo Port Closed

The port of Cabo San Lucas has been closed, according to a weather bulletin on Mexico's merchant marine Web site.

Norbert may drop up to 25 centimeters (8 inches) of rain as it passes over Baja California, the forecast said.

``Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,'' the advisory said.