At a Glance Hurricane Willa knocked out power and cut off towns on Mexico's coast from the outside world. No deaths were reported in the storm's immediate aftermath. Thousands were ordered to evacuate Mexico's Pacific coast ahead of the storm. More than 20 landslides were reported in Jalisco state on Tuesday. Hurricane Willa brought flooding and reports of wind damage to Mexico's Pacific coast as it came ashore Tuesday evening, but authorities said there were no immediate reports of deaths. Multiple towns along the coast had been cut off from the outside world and officials were still working to reestablish communication with them, Escuinapa Mayor Hugo Moreno told the Associated Press. In Escuinapa, images of a damaged hospital were shown on local stations. "Communication to towns has been cut off because a lot of utility poles collapsed, trees fell, there is no electricity or drinking water ... neighborhoods are flooded and it’s not easy to access them," Sinaloa Governor Quirino Ordaz told Mexico News Daily. (MORE: Yutu Leaves U.S. Commonwealth Badly Damaged) Advertisement The storm knocked out power to more than 100,000 homes in Sinaloa state alone, the AP said, and service had been restored to more than half of those customers by Wednesday night. According to the Interior Department, some 12,000 soldiers, federal airplanes and other resources were sent to help with the recovery in the hardest-hit areas. A family inspects the remnants of their home in the aftermath of Hurricane Willa in Escuinapa, Mexico, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) In Durango state, heavy rain prompted about 200 people to be evacuated amid concerns that the Santa Elena dam could be overtopped, the AP also said. Others had to be evacuated away from a swollen river that continued to rise. Prior to landfall, the storm hammered the Islas Marias, a four-island archipelago home to about 1,100 people some 60 miles off the coast of Mexico. The islands contain a nature preserve and a federal prison where hundreds of inmates are housed. Authorities did not say how the prison was prepared for the hurricane's arrival but told the AP that they prioritized keeping the inmates safe during the storm. More than 20 landslides were reported on federal highways in Jalisco as Willa's heavy rain spread across the Mexican state on Tuesday, according to ZMG Traffic.<doc-sep>TEACAPAN, Mexico (Reuters) - When Amadeo Ramos went to bed Tuesday night, nine sturdy metal tables were fixed to the concrete floor of his seafood restaurant just off the boardwalk of the Mexican fishing village of Teacapan. By the time Hurricane Willa had torn through the village the next morning, they were nearly all gone. “There were nine tables here,” said Ramos, pointing to an empty space in his El Bucanero restaurant where customers would eat shrimp ceviche washed down with beer. “Only two are still here. The others were broken to pieces and flew away.” Willa ripped into Teacapan as a Category 3 hurricane, one of the strongest to hit Mexico’s Pacific coast in years, prying off roofs with winds of up to 120 miles per hour (193 km per hour). No deaths were reported thanks to mass evacuations, but the storm left the streets of Teacapan a muddy mess. Trees still standing were littered with debris, including pieces of twisted metal roofing. The wall of the boardwalk was blasted apart, with large chunks of concrete scattered on an adjacent road by a wrecked fishing boat that the hurricane hurled out of the water. Teacapan lies about 70 miles (110 km) south of the beach resort of Mazatlan, and the village’s few thousand local residents were moved to shelters inland a day before Willa struck. Slideshow ( 11 images ) Ramos, one of the first to return, quickly named climate change as the main culprit. “Before, a long time would pass before anything like this, but now these dangerous storms happen more often and cause this kind of damage,” the 54-year-old said. After Willa, the two-lane highway leading to Teacapan was littered with more than a hundred fallen electrical poles, their thick metal power lines covering much of the roadway. The poles caused long waits for the buses transporting residents back to what remained of their homes. Distraught, they pressed their faces against the windows, looking out. Fishing villages in this part of the northwestern state of Sinaloa are often associated with Mexican drug traffickers, as boats are used to pick up illicit shipments dropped by plane in the sea along stretches of mostly empty coastline, locals said. The area has long been regarded as the turf of notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s Sinaloa Cartel. Captured in 2016, Guzman is now awaiting trial in New York. Slideshow ( 11 images ) But in the aftermath of Hurricane Willa, residents said the normally omnipresent cartel was forced to step back and allow local officials to re-establish basic services. Ramos thinks it will take weeks before power is fully restored, and he wondered whether it might be time to move elsewhere. “You think about doing something else, or selling to someone who really wants to make the effort,” he said, his voice tailing off. Then, in the distance, he spotted a piece of his restaurant’s roof, and marched off to grab it. “I think that bit can be rescued.”<doc-sep>Hurricane Willa roared over an offshore penal colony and closed in on Mexico’s Pacific coast with 120-mph winds Tuesday, threatening this 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 late Tuesday near Mazatlan, a popular 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. Advertisement As Willa closed in, the beach in Mazatlan all but 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. “The house we’re living in is not well built,” said Sergio Ernesto Meri Franco, who rents a studio apartment. The federal government issued a decree of “extraordinary emergency” for 19 municipalities in Nayarit and Sinaloa states. Bob Swanson, who is from Saskatchewan, Canada, and spends two to six months of the year in his house in the Cerritos neighborhood near the shore in Mazatlan, said he filled his washing machine with water, filled his home fuel tank and gassed up his car in case he needs to head into the mountains for safety. “I’m kind of waiting with bated breath,” he said over the phone, adding that he was sitting on his porch and smoking a cigarette. A resident rides his bike along a flooded street in Escuinapa, Sinaloa state, as Hurricane Willa headed toward Mexico’s Pacific coast, (ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP/Getty Images) Advertisement 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 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. UPDATES: Advertisement 4:40 p.m.: This article was updated with the latest details on Hurricane Willa. This article was originally published at 7:40 a.m.<doc-sep>
MAZATLAN, Mexico — Hurricane Willa began losing power overnight after roaring over a stretch of beach towns, fishing villages and farms on the Pacific coast of Mexico's Sinaloa state as a Category 3 storm. Damage assessments were scanty during the night because of darkness and poor communications, but federal officials said power had been knocked out in some spots and there were early reports of flimsy structures with tin roofs sustaining damage. Before hitting the mainland near Isla del Bosque with 120 mph winds Tuesday night, Willa swept over an offshore penal colony about 60 miles out in the Pacific. Authorities declined to comment on precautions that were taken at the prison, citing security concerns, but said the safety of inmates was a priority. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm's forward movement had sped up to 17 mph late Tuesday and it was expected to rapidly weaken. It warned, however, that the storm could still cause heavy rains in portions of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa states, with flash flooding and landslides possible in mountainous areas. Here are the 10 PM CDT Key Messages for #Hurricane #Willa- the systemremains an extremely serious storm surge, wind, and flash flooding threat. Full advisory: https://t.co/Oy8uoeRKme pic.twitter.com/2UzSHGsDwz — NHC E. Pacific Ops (@NHC_Pacific) October 24, 2018 Willa came ashore about 50 miles southeast of Mazatlan, a resort city that is home to high-rise hotels and about 500,000 people, including many U.S. and Canadian expatriates. Although hotels, restaurants and stores were boarded over, people ventured onto Mazatlan's coastal boulevard to watch a spectacular sunset as the hurricane obscured the sky to the south. Alberto Hernandez, a hotel worker in the town of Teacapan, close to where the storm made landfall, expressed confidence before it hit that the building would hold up. He and his son, who also works at the hotel, stayed on the job, though the rest of his family had left the area. "We've had rain all day. There is nobody in the streets. Everything is closed," Hernandez said. "But not everyone wanted to leave, even though authorities made it clear that he who stays does so at his own peril." Torrential rains began in the afternoon, and emergency officials said they had evacuated more than 4,250 people in coastal towns and set up 58 shelters ahead of the dangerous storm. Schools were ordered closed. As Willa neared, the beach in Mazatlan almost disappeared, with waves slamming against the coastal boulevard under looming black clouds. A few surfers enjoyed the big waves while the streets onshore were nearly deserted except for workers boarding up windows at hotels, shops and homes. Some families took shelter at the Mazatlan convention center, spreading out blankets along the walls to wait out the storm. "The house we're living in is not well built," said Sergio Ernesto Meri Franco, who rents a studio apartment. The sun sets as Hurricane Willa makes landfall in Mazatlan, Mexico, on Tuesday. Marco Ugarte / AP Bob Swanson, a Canadian who spends two to six months of the year in his house in the Cerritos neighborhood near the shore in Mazatlan, said he filled his washing machine with water, topped up his home fuel tank and gassed up his car in case he needed to head into the mountains for safety. "I'm kind of waiting with bated breath," he said over the phone, adding that he was sitting on his porch and smoking a cigarette.