Mexico's south Baja peninsula braces for tropical storm Lidia

The southern half of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula was bracing for tropical storm Lidia on Thursday, as it barreled towards the popular vacation destination with maximum sustained winds of 100 km per hour.


The Mexican government issued a red alert mainly for the state of Baja California Sur, home to the famed beach resort of Los Cabos. The red alert was later extended to the mainland state of Sinaloa, in the northwest.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Mexico's meteorological service forecast that "the center of Lidia will pass near or over the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula" early Thursday evening and "move over the peninsula through Friday night."

The storm was expected to possibly strengthen in the evening, but then weaken as it moved across the peninsula.

Though Lidia was expected to dump 8-12 inches (about 17.8-20.3 cm) of rain, the real danger was posed by a storm surge, which could produce coastal flooding "accompanied by large and destructive waves," the NHC said.
 [globaltimes.cn/Xinhua]
1/9/17