The center of the ferocious storm was forecast to remain just offshore with hurricane-strength winds likely reaching the coast, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC.)

At 1800 GMT, the hurricane packed maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers (135 miles) per hour, which put it at category four, the second highest level on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale. NHC forecasters said it could strengthen further.

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 85 kilometers (50 miles) of the center, which was 115 kilometers (70 miles) southwest of the port city of Lazaro Cardenas on Wednesday afternoon.

Mexican authorities alerted residents along coastal areas of Michoacan and Jalisco to brace for possible hurricane conditions, and forecasters projected the storm would eventually brush the southern tip of Baja California before veering westward toward the open Pacific waters.

"While the center of John is forecast to remain just offshore ... hurricane-force winds are still expected to reach the coast within the warning area," said NHC forecaster Richard Pasch.

Authorities in Jalisco ordered the evacuation of 8,000 people and urged others to board up their homes as the hurricane drenched much of the region.

Winds and rain propelled by the storm uprooted trees and caused mudslides in the seaside tourist resort of Acapulco.

The NHC warned that rainfall could cause "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," and that "large and dangerous battering waves" should be expected in areas close to the hurricane's path.

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US National Hurricane Center