Sawt Falasteen - Hurricane Polo triggers huge waves in coastal Mexican city

Residents of Lazaro Cardenas hurriedly stacked sandbags along the shoreline to protect seaside homes and businesses threatened by Hurricane Polo, which is not expected to make landfall.

Strong swells and pounding rain overpowered their defenses on Wednesday, however, and cracks ran through some building facades.

"Our buildings have been falling apart," seaside hotel owner Concepcion Lopez told AFP.

Hurricane Polo reached maximum Category 5 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale on Wednesday, and was still active about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the coast of Guerrero state.

Authorities said it was heading north towards Michoacan state, where Lazaro Cardenas is located.

Mexico has deployed 1,700 troops to Michoacan, and armed soldiers were guarding the beach at Lazaro Cardenas.

In another coastal hotel, the crashing waves destroyed one of two swimming pools.

More flooding "is wrecking the other one; it's also reaching my kitchen," said owner Gudelia Ochoa. "We're holding on to hope that it won't hurt us too much."

Torrential rain and winds of between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour are forecast along parts of Mexico's Pacific Coast, as well as waves of at least six to eight meters in height.

"The population located in alert zones and in areas at risk of flooding, landslides, or rising rivers is urged to take extreme precautions," a civil protection press release stated.

Mexico gets hit by hurricanes every year, both on the Pacific coast and the Atlantic coast, usually between May and November.

The El Nino weather pattern has intensified this year's storm season.

The cyclical climate phenomenon raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and causes global changes in winds and rainfall as well as erratic weather conditions.

N.Awad--SF-PST