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Mexico issues warning ahead of Tropical Storm Octave

Mexico issues warning ahead of Tropical Storm Octave

Mexico City (AFP) - The Mexican government issued a tropical storm warning Monday as Octave took aim at an already disaster-weary Mexico, while a second storm, Priscilla, strengthened far out to sea.

Tropical Storm Octave, with winds of up to 60 miles (96 kilometers) per hour, was expected to approach the west coast of Baja California late Monday and Tuesday, US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

It was forecast to weaken as it moved closer, and Baja California civil protection chief Carlos Miguel Enriquez said it would make landfall "not as a storm, nor depression, just as a remnant."

Still, the storm could dump three to six inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) of rain over much of the southern Baja California peninsula, just three weeks after the country weathered the dual blast of storms Manuel and Ingrid.

At least 157 people were killed in historic downpours, including 101 in the southern Guerrero state. Dozens were left missing in the mountainous village of La Pintada after a landslide buried a third of the community.

September's torrential rains left 1.7 million people homeless.

Authorities have issued a tropical storm warning for the southwestern portion of the Baja California peninsula, and Enriquez said they were considering whether to evacuate some residents.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Priscilla strengthened in the eastern Pacific Monday, packing winds of up to 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour, forecasters from the NHC said.

The weather system was situated some 646 miles (1,040 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California.

Although some additional strengthening was expected over the next day or two, no coastal warnings or watches were in effect, the forecasters said.