Hurricane Genevieve
grew rapidly into a highly dangerous Category 4 storm on Tuesday, threatening to bring tropical-storm-force winds to parts of Mexico 's Baja California Peninsula even if its center was not likely to hit land.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 215 kph at midday Tuesday and it was centered about 525 kilometers south-southeast of the southern tip of the Baja peninsula . It was moving to the northwest at 23 kph.
Forecasters said tropical-storm-force winds were likely to start hitting parts of the peninsula on Wednesday night or Thursday before it moves over cooler waters and starts to weaken.
More than 10,000 families live in flood-prone informal settlements in homes of wood and cardboard in Cabo San Lucas , areas that usually have to be evacuated when storms approach.
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Along the tourist areas in Cabo San Lucas, the streets were semi-empty, but it has been that way for some time. Most of the tourist-oriented businesses remain closed due to the pandemic.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the peninsula from Los Barriles to Todos Santos.
Los Cabos municipal civil defense director Erick Santillán said as the storm neared that officials would decide whether to open shelters. “It’s not going to hit us, but it will give us water and strong winds,” he said. “We’re already making preparations.”
The storm was expected to spread 2.5 to 10 centimeters of water over parts of Baja California Sur state as it advances roughly parallel to the coast.
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