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Powerful Hurricane Odile hits Mexican tourist area

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico -- Residents and tourists hunkered down in shelters and hotel conference rooms overnight as a powerful and sprawling Hurricane Odile made landfall on the southern Baja California peninsula in Mexico.

The area is home to gleaming megaresorts, tiny fishing communities and low-lying neighborhoods of flimsy homes. Forecasters predicted a dangerous storm surge with large waves as well as drenching rains capable of causing landslides and flash floods.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said satellite imagery indicates Odile's center made landfall at about 9:45 p.m. PDT near Cabo San Lucas.

As of 5 a.m. PDT on Monday, Odile had sustained winds of 110 mph. It was approximately 40 miles west of La Paz, at the southern end of Baja California (Mexico), and was moving north-northwest at 16 mph. A gradual weakening was forecast over the next two days.

After reaching Category 4 strength on Sunday, Odile weakened some to Category 3 but was still a major storm. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned of possible coastal flooding and rainfall of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated amounts up to 15 inches.

Odile is expected to move over the Baja California peninsula through tomorrow. Some areas could get up to 18 inches of rain.

As howling winds whipped palm trees amid pelting rain outside, people bedded down and used magazines to fan themselves in crowded, stuffy safe rooms. Some did crossword puzzles or listened to iPhones. In one hotel near San Jose del Cabo, power went out not long after nightfall, and a generator was keeping minimal lights on.

Denise Mellor, a traveler from Orange County, California, was frustrated about a lack of information about the storm and said she was learning more from her daughter back home than from hotel workers.

"It's a little bit (unsettling) that we don't have a choice but to sit in here and hope for the best," Mellor said. "So that makes me a little bit scared."

Mexican authorities evacuated coastal areas and readied shelters for up to 30,000 people.

"We are going to be hit, do not risk your life," warned Marcos Covarrubias, governor of Baja California Sur.

On Sunday, police with megaphones walked through vulnerable areas in Cabo San Lucas urging people to evacuate.

"I'm leaving. It's very dangerous here," said Felipa Flores, clutching a plastic bag with a few belongings as she took her two small children from her neighborhood of El Caribe to a storm shelter. "Later on, we're going to be cut off and my house of wood and laminated cardboard won't stand up to much."

At least 22 airline flights were canceled. Some tourists camped out at the Los Cabos international airport hoping to get out before the storm, but the facility shut down all air operations late in the afternoon.

Luis Felipe Puente, national coordinator for Mexico's civil protection agency, said 164 shelters had been prepared for as many as 30,000 people in Baja California Sur.

A hurricane warning was in effect from Punta Abreojos to Santa Rosalia. Mexican authorities declared a maximum alert for areas in or near Odile's path, and ports in Baja California were ordered closed.

Meanwhile, in the central Atlantic, Edouard increased in strength to a category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 105 mph. However, it was forecast to remain far out at sea and pose no threat to land.

The U.S. hurricane center said Edouard's center was 720 miles east-southeast of Bermuda and was moving northwest at 15 mph.

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