Hurricane Simon batters Mexico's Pacific Coast

Hurricane Simon lashed vulnerable resorts and towns along Mexico's Pacific Coast on Sunday as it moved parallel to the shoreline, despite weakening to a category 3 storm. "Additional weakening is forecast but Simon is still expected to be a strong hurricane as it passes near the coast of west-central Mexico tonight," the US National Hurricane Center's advisory said. Simon is expected to move farther offshore on Monday before turning back towards Mexico's coast on Wednesday, it said. Mexican authorities have placed 28 municipalities across the states of Jalisco and Colima under the highest cyclone alert level. Another 93 municipalities were under high ‌alert, according to civil protection bulletins.