Hurricane Agatha to hit Mexico's Pacific coast

Hurricane Agatha, the first named storm in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic basins this year, headed toward an expected Monday landfall as a Category 3 storm near the town of Mazunte, Mexico.

The Pacific coast of Mexico's Oaxaca state — a region that also includes the "laid-back tourist resorts" of Huatulco and Zipolite — was placed under a hurricane warning, The Associated Press reports.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm rapidly strengthened Sunday, with top sustained winds of 110 miles per hour by early Monday. Forecasters warned it could cause "dangerous" coastal flooding and "life-threatening hurricane-force winds." Agatha could hit some areas with 20 inches of rain and cause "life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides" as it crosses southern Mexico, the center said. It also could possibly redevelop and threaten the Gulf of Mexico.

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