[1/9] Men board up the storefront of a business as Hurricane Lidia barrels towards Mexico's Pacific coast, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico October 10, 2023.
REUTERS/Christian Ruano Acquire Licensing RightsMEXICO CITY, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lidia reached Category 4 strength on Tuesday afternoon as it barreled towards Mexico's Pacific coast, where major beach and tourist resorts were bracing for significant downpours, likely flooding as well as imminent hurricane-force winds.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that Hurricane Lidia was of "extremely dangerous" strength and could strengthen further before making landfall on Tuesday night.
The hurricane was about 110 miles (177 km) southwest of major beach destination Puerto Vallarta, the Miami-based NHC reported in its latest bulletin at 5:30 p.m.
The Puerto Vallarta airport announced on social media it was closing from 4 p.m. (2200 GMT) until 8 a.m. on Wednesday.
Persons:
Lidia, Christian Ruano, Max, Raul Cortes Fernandez, Brendan O'Boyle, Isabel Woodford, Stephen Eisenhammer, Stephen Coates, Sandra Maler
Organizations:
REUTERS, Christian, MEXICO CITY, U.S, National Hurricane Center, NHC, Tropical, Thomson
Locations:
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, MEXICO, Miami, Puerto, Nayarit, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Guerrero