Hurricane "Lydia" intensified in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, becoming an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane (with a magnitude increasing from 5 degrees) as it approached the western coast of Mexico.
Hurricane "Lydia" is expected to make landfall on Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center, based in the United States, said that the hurricane is currently located 175 kilometers southwest of the coastal city of Puerto Vallarta in the state of Jalisco, and is advancing at a speed of 26 kilometers per hour, accompanied by strong winds of 220 kilometers per hour.
The National Hurricane Center added that Lydia had become an "extremely dangerous" hurricane.
According to the Mexican Meteorological Service, the areas expected to be most affected by the hurricane extend from the state of Colima (west) to the state of Nayarit (northwest), where rain is expected to fall between 150 to 250 mm.
The authorities asked residents of areas at risk to exercise caution and seek refuge in temporary shelters and stay away from the coast.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also announced during his daily press conference that civil protection services are “on alert,” stressing that the army has deployed about 6,000 members of the armed forces in anticipation of any emergency.
In Puerto Vallarta, heavy rain fell, forcing hundreds to seek shelter, while many stores fortified their glass facades with wooden panels.
Schools in the region also suspended classes, and the authorities asked stores to close their doors as of 14:00 (20:00 GMT).
“Everything that does not involve emergency tasks must be closed,” said Gerardo Alonzo Castellon, director of civil protection and fire department in Puerto Vallarta. “We also call on residents of dangerous areas to evacuate and take shelter.”
New contact between Biden and Netanyahu: strengthening American support for Israel with equipment
For the third time in days, US President Joe Biden made a call to the Israeli Prime Minister, stressing the need for all countries to condemn “the atrocities committed by Hamas,” explaining the course of American support for Israel.
The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke “on Tuesday afternoon local time in the United States” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to provide an update on continued American support for Israel.
According to the statement, Biden explained that he received a briefing from the National Security Team regarding developments in the situation in Israel, and explained in detail the American support that has arrived or will be on its way soon, including ammunition, Iron Dome interceptor missiles, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and other defensive equipment.
The US President stressed the need for all countries to "unequivocally condemn the brutal atrocities committed by Hamas, which are similar to the atrocities committed by ISIS several years ago," as he put it.
In turn, Netanyahu provided Biden with an update on the situation in Israel, and “the spirit of the Israeli people as they unite to protect their country and their people against Hamas and all other threats,” according to the White House statement.
Biden and Netanyahu agreed to talk again in the next few days.
I was an RT correspondent who reported at dawn on Wednesday that an American plane loaded with weapons and equipment for Israel had landed at the Navatim military base.
Israeli media had quoted a Pentagon official as saying, “ American special forces have arrived in Israel specialized in hostage-free operations .”
This announcement also comes after what Pentagon sources told the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, where they reported that Washington is studying the possibility of sending a second aircraft carrier to the coast of Israel.
According to the American newspaper , the US Defense Forces will send the aircraft carrier "Dwight Eisenhower" and its accompanying ships, noting that the aircraft carrier is expected to arrive in the region within approximately two weeks.
Washington had already sent the first aircraft carrier, "Gerald R. Ford", and its accompanying ships to Israeli waters.