Power failed on Monday in parts of Mexico's Baja California peninsula as Hurricane Polo threatened the Pacific coast, and sea water spilling over coastal barriers flooded several areas.

The Category 3 storm is the first hurricane of the season set to make landfall. The report says El Nino, which has brought unusual warmth to the equatorial Pacific, has made it stronger.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Polo could bring heavy rain and hurricane-force winds as it crosses southern Baja California, and Mexican authorities told residents to move to shelter.

At Puerto San Carlos, a small fishing port of about 6,000 people in Baja California Sur in the storm's path, the sea turned rough. Sand barriers broke in several places, water poured into the streets and the power went out. Soldiers went door to door urging people to leave their wooden houses.

Juan Manuel Sarabia, 53, boarded up the front of his house, saying the storm was coming at full strength. Salvador Palma chose to stay with his family of seven, saying he had stayed through every hurricane and nothing had ever happened to him.

The report is by Amar Desh's international desk.

Photo: Rodrigo Javier / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Source: Amar Desh