Hurricane gains strength as winds hit 105mph

Storm-weary resorts on Mexico’s Pacific coast are braced for the fury of Hurricane Lane, which was flooding port cities as it churned toward the Gulf of California, the second major hurricane to strike the region in two weeks.

Packing top winds near 105mph and still strengthening, Hurricane Lane became a category 2 storm.

Late last night, the storm was located about 215 miles south-east of Cabo San Lucas and was moving north at 12 mph, though it was expected to slow down a little.

Mexico issued hurricane warnings for the southern tip of Baja and for a stretch of mainland Pacific coastline between El Roblito to Altata.

The storm has already whipped up waves in Acapulco, where officials said a seven-year-old boy was killed late on Thursday in a landslide caused by the heavy rains.

Forecasts say the storm’s outer bands will lash an area encompassing Cabo San Lucas and its twin resort, San Jose del Cabo, but the eye was supposed to shift east and move ashore near the mainland city of Los Mochis late on Sunday. It was then forecast to dissipate in Mexico without reaching the United States.

The storm caused flooding in the port city of Lazaro Cardenas, where more than 500 people were evacuated from their homes after a canal overflowed.