MEXICO CITY -- Tropical Storm Polo churned south of the Baja California Peninsula on Saturday, whipping up waves and threatening to dump more rain on residents still recovering from Hurricane Odile.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Polo was centred about 150 miles (240 kilometres) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas. It had sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving to the northwest at 8 mph 13 (kph). It was expected to pass south of the peninsula later Saturday.
The hurricane centre said Polo was expected to lose strength over the weekend. It warned, however, that coastal areas could see dangerous surf and rip-current conditions. Mexican authorities advised that the storm could bring heavy rain.
Polo came six days after Odile, a Category 3 hurricane, lashed Cabo San Lucas and the nearby city of San Jose del Cabo, knocking out power and water service for thousands. Authorities sent in federal troops and police forces to help restore order and to calm outbreaks of looting. Tens of thousands of tourists were evacuated from the coastal resort region.
Many areas remained without power or water on Saturday. Authorities were bringing in food, power generators and other necessities to hurricane victims, many of whom lost their homes.
Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong toured the area between La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur, and the Los Cabos resort area. He told the Televisa network the area was now under "total control."
Odile not only destroyed homes, he said, but damaged the airport and many parts of the hotel zone.
Power had been restored to 60 per cent of customers in La Paz, but work in Los Cabos, he said, would take "a few more days."
"There is practically not a single power pole standing. That is the magnitude of the problem that we have," he said. "It is the worst catastrophe that we have had in terms of the power of a weather event."
Three deaths have been attributed to the storm. Osorio Chong confirmed that two Korean men were killed when their vehicle was carried away in a current. State Police said another man died in a similar circumstance.
