OAXACA, Mexico — The National Hurricane Center reports that Hurricane Erick has come ashore as a category 3 storm in Southern Mexico, after swiftly strengthening to an “extremely dangerous” category 4 hurricane overnight.

According to the Pacific office of the National Hurricane Center, Erick made landfall at approximately 7:43 a.m. EST in the far western region of Oaxaca, Mexico, just to the east of Punta Maldonado, with constant winds blowing at 125 miles per hour.

Southern Mexico’s Pacific coast was braced for a Thursday morning impact with the approach of Hurricane Erick, which was upgraded to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 early Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The major storm threatens to unleash destructive winds near where the eye crashes ashore, flash floods and a dangerous storm surge, forecasters said.

The Miami-based center reported Erick was about 70 miles (110 kilometers) west-southwest of Puerto Angel, Mexico, and about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Punta Maldonado, Mexico. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) and was moving northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).

Late Wednesday, Erick’s projected path crept south, closer to the resort city of Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca state, and centered on a sparsely populated stretch of coastline between the Oaxacan resort and Acapulco to the northwest.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a video message Wednesday night that all activities in the region were suspended and she urged people to stay in their homes or to move to shelters if they lived in low-lying areas.

Waves were crashing onto the esplanade in Puerto Escondido by nightfall, swamping wooden fishing boats that had been pulled up there for safety. The beach disappeared under pounding waves and the rising tide had already reached the interiors of some waterfront restaurants.

Last-minute purchases ended at nightfall as stores closed and the streets emptied.

Earlier in the day, fishermen in Puerto Escondido pulled their boats out of the water ahead of the storm’s arrival. Some surfers continued to ride waves at the Zicatela beach, even with red flags up to warn people to stay out of the water.

The storm’s course shift could be welcome relief for residents of storm-battered Acapulco.

The city of nearly 1 million 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 the storm severely damaged almost all of the resort’s hotels.