Many ignore Mexican storm alert

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Strong wind and rain batters the coast of Mexico

Thousands of residents in Mexico's Baja California peninsula have ignored pleas to evacuate as Hurricane Jimena bears down on the region.

It has weakened to a category two storm but could still bring hurricane force winds when it makes landfall on Wednesday, say experts.

The US-based National Hurricane Center has warned of heavy rain, coastal flooding and mudslides.

Many shanty-town dwellers have stayed put, in case their homes are looted.

Some 10,000 families have been evacuated, but many others are still huddling in flimsy shelters.

Howling winds

"Unfortunately we have families that are refusing to leave their homes, so if it becomes necessary, they will be evacuated by force for their own good," Francisco Cota, civil defence chief in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos, told AFP news agency.

Las Cabos has already been pummelled with howling winds and torrential rains, as tourists hunkered down in boarded-up hotels.

Jimena came close to becoming a category five storm - the most dangerous there is - but weakened as it approached land.

Its maximum sustained winds have fallen to 110 mph (175km/h), but residents of Los Cabos were still uneasy.

"I've never seen a storm this big in the 23 years I have lived here," one told Reuters news agency.

Jimena is the second hurricane to pound Mexico this season. Hurricane Andres swept a fisherman to his death in Acapulco in June.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Erika formed in the Atlantic, east of Antigua and Barbuda, the National Hurricane Center said.

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