Willa roars over Mexico prison island, heads for resort area

Hurricane Willa roared over an offshore penal colony and closed in on Mexico’s Pacific coast with 120 mph winds Tuesday, threatening a major resort area along with fishing villages and farms.

Emergency officials said they evacuated more than 4,250 people in coastal towns and set up 58 shelters ahead of the dangerous Category 3 storm, which was expected to blow ashore in the evening near Mazatlan, a tourist spot of high-rise hotels and about 500,000 people, many of them U.S. and Canadian expatriates.

By midafternoon, Willa was bringing torrential rain.

The storm battered the Islas Marias, a group of Mexican islands about 60 miles off the mainland that include a nature preserve and a federal prison. Federal authorities declined to comment on precautions taken at the prison, citing security concerns.

As Willa closed in, the beach in Mazatlan almost disappeared, with waves slamming against the coastal boulevard under looming black clouds. A few surfers took advantage of the high waves even as workers boarded up windows on hotels, shops and homes. Schools were closed and the streets nearly empty.

Some families went to a Mazatlan convention center, which opened its doors as a shelter. They spread out blankets along the walls and waited for the storm.

Hurricane-force winds extended 35 miles from Willa’s center, and tropical storm-force winds were felt up to 115 miles out.

Forecasters said the hurricane could bring 6 to 12 inches of rain — with up to 18 inches in some places — to parts of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa states, with flash flooding and landslides possible in mountainous areas.

Farther to the south, the remnants of Tropical Storm Vicente continued to bring heavy rain that caused deadly flooding and mudslides. Federal disaster agency chief Luis Felipe Puente said 11 people died as a result of Vicente. Local officials earlier put the figure at 12.