Mexico declares "red alert" as Hurricane Ida reaches category 2

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican government declared a "red alert" on Sunday as Hurricane Ida moved northwest toward the country's oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm reached hurricane force again late on Saturday and became a category 2 storm on Sunday, with sustained winds of nearly 94 mph (155 kph), Mexico's National Meteorological System (SMN) said.

The SMN warned that the southeastern states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo would possibly get heavy rains of 250 millimeters on Monday.

The Mexican government also urged people to move to safe places and follow upcoming weather forecasts.

The hurricane would cross the Gulf of Mexico and reach the Southern U.S. states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday, the SMN reported.

Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency on Sunday, allowing the government to mobilize troops and rescue workers.

On Sunday noon, the center of Ida was some 138 km southwest of Cuba's far Western province of Pinar del Rio and was now coming closer to Mexico, moving away from Cuba, the Cuban Institute of Meteorology said Sunday.

Pinar del Rio province is still on the alert for tropical storm conditions, and the government has warned people about "tidal waves, strong winds and pouring rains."

Ida first became a hurricane on Thursday off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, where heavy rains forced more than 5,000 people into shelters.

Then it moved to El Salvador, killing at least 91 and leaving about 60 missing.