MEXICO CITY—The first hurricane of the season formed off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Sunday and rapidly gained power ahead of an expected strike along a stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns as a major storm.
Agatha could make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Monday afternoon or evening in the area near Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel in the southern state of Oaxaca—a region that includes the laid-back tourist resorts of Huatulco, Mazunte, and Zipolite.
In early evening Sunday, the recently formed hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph)—just 1 mph under the threshold for a Category 3, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was centered about 160 miles (255 kilometers) southwest of Puerto Angel and heading to the northeast at 5 mph (7 kph)….