Tourists flee Mexico resort

Luxury hotels sent foreign tourists home as powerful Hurricane John took aim at Mexico's Baja California peninsula yesterday, and the government ordered 10,000 local residents into shelters.

At least three hotels in the posh Los Cabos resort, popular with US tourists and famed for its beaches and Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses, arranged flights home for tourists before the storm hits today.

"We are evacuating everyone," said Mithza Velazquez, concierge at the beachfront Hilton Hotel in Los Cabos.

John is a Category 3 hurricane, packing sustained winds of 205 kph and stronger gusts. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre forecast the storm will make a direct hit on the resort.

"We are trying to evacuate as many guests as possible," said Martin Guillen, spokesman for the Casa del Mar hotel, next to the Hilton in Los Cabos.

"We are trying to convince people that they should leave for their own safety," he said in an interview. "The vast majority have changed their flights and are leaving today."

Mexican residents of low-lying areas of Los Cabos will also be evacuated from their homes, by force if necessary, said Jose Gajon, head of civil protection for the state of Baja California Sur.