ACAPULCO, Mexico — Hurricane Erick has escalated into a significant Category 3 hurricane, posing a threat to southern Mexico’s coast with powerful winds and heavy rainfall, according to a statement from the U.S. Hurricane Center on Wednesday night.

The center, operating out of Miami, reported that Erick’s maximum sustained winds have reached 120 mph following hours of rapid strengthening, upgrading from a Category 1 hurricane earlier in the day.

The storm is positioned in the eastern Pacific, approximately 55 miles south-southwest of Puerto Angel, Mexico. It is also roughly 160 miles southeast of Punta Maldonado, advancing northwest at a speed of 9 mph, as detailed in the latest advisory from the hurricane center.

The storm’s projected path would take its center near the resort of Acapulco, which was devastated in October 2023 by Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 hurricane that rapidly intensified and caught many unprepared. At least 52 people died in Otis and 32 were missing, after the storm severely damaged almost all of the resort’s hotels.

In Acapulco Wednesday, there was a strong presence of National Guard and police in the streets, but most visible were trucks from the national power company. Crews worked to clear drainage canals and brush.

Some beaches were already closed, but tourists continued to sunbathe on others.

On a beach in Acapulco, a line of people waited for the help of a backhoe to pull their boats out of the water.

rián Acevedo Durantes, 52, hauls tourists around Acapulco’s picturesque coastline in boats. Two of his boats sank in Hurricane Otis and a third was badly damaged.

“We’re taking precautions because with Otis we never expected one of that magnitude to come and now with climate change the water is warmer and the hurricanes are more powerful,” Acevedo said.

This time the port administration ordered that no one ride out the storm aboard their boats. During Otis many lost their lives by staying on boats in the harbor, which had traditionally been how they ensured their safety during previous storms. He said knew some of those lost at sea.

He acknowledged that it was sunny and the water calm Wednesday afternoon, making it hard to imagine a major storm was on the way, but said “with Otis it was calm all day, sunny, then at midnight there were two hours of strong winds and we saw what had happened the next day.”

Francisco Casarubio, a 46-year-old choreographer, carried a carton of eggs as he did some last-minute shopping ahead of the storm. He planned to pick up rice, beans and some canned food as well.

His home flooded and lost power in Otis and said he was taking Erick more seriously, but hadn’t had time to shop until Wednesday.

Forecasters said Erick was expected to lash Mexico’s Pacific coast with heavy rain, strong winds and a fierce storm surge. Rains of up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) could fall across the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, with lesser totals in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states, the center’s advisory said. The rainfall threatened flooding and mudslides, especially in areas with steep terrain.

Down the coast in Puerto Escondido near the southern edge of Erick’s possible path, some fishermen began pulling their boats out of the water under a drizzling sky Wednesday.

Even though the wind had yet to pick up at the Zicatela beach, red flags were up to warn people to stay out of the water. But some surfers ignored them as they continued to ride waves.

Laura Velázquez, Mexico’s national civil defense coordinator, said Erick was forecast to bring “torrential” rains to Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico.

The mountainous region along the coast is especially prone to mudslides, and there are numerous rivers that could jump their banks.

Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said all schools were closed Wednesday and the state had alerted all of the fishing and tourism operators of the risk of the coming storm and recommended they prepare their boats. Acapulco’s port closed Tuesday evening. She said 582 shelters were prepared to receive people who might evacuate their homes.

President Claudia Sheinbaum during her daily news briefing warned residents in the hurricane’s path to heed government instructions and wait out the storm in their homes or government shelters.