'Very powerful' Hurricane Polo upgraded to category 5 as 'major' fears grow in Mexico

'Very powerful' Hurricane Polo upgraded to category 5 as 'major' fears grow in Mexico Residents are worried everything could be 'destroyed' as the 'very powerful' hurricane in the Pacific is set to batter parts of Mexico as it has been upgraded to a category 5 storm One of the most powerful Pacific cyclones in decades, Hurricane Polo, has intensified into a category 5 storm. The "very powerful" hurricane was projected to head towards the coast of south-western Mexico, bringing strong winds and rain. The US National Hurricane Center have returned the "extremely dangerous" storm back to a category 5, after it was downgraded to a category 4. Category 5 is the highest level on the scale. Forecasters have warned that the intensity of the storm is expected to fluctuate over coming days. People in Baja California Sur have been warned to watch the storm closely. On Tuesday, a Hurricane Hunter aircraft, operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), recorded sustained wind speeds near 180 mph (285 km/h), with stronger gusts. Polo was centred 210 miles (338 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and nearly stationary over the Pacific Ocean. It is expected to start a slow but sharp turn northwest and over the coming day travel in a generally west-northwestward direction. As Mexico's Pacific coast residents have been struck by several powerful cyclones in recent years residents are said to be 'on edge' as the storm intensifies. The warm waters caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon is fuelling the slow-moving storm. Mexican authorities suspended classes earlier this week in a number of areas with the Mexican navy shutting down ports in the states of Guerrero and Michoacán with civilians and fishermen warned to take care. According to forecasters the hurricane "may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," with torrential rainfall on the way. Heavy rainfall is expected to impact coastal regions in southwest Mexico through Thursday. The hurricane centre warned people that conditions will develop by Thursday, including large ocean swells and life-threatening surf conditions. "So far, the information we have is that (Polo) will not make a direct landfall on the coast," Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday, but she added that residents along the Pacific coast need to remain alert. The states of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacan have been labelled as being at risk. Locals have already started preparing for damages. Concepción López Villegas, seaside restaurant owner, said she feared her small business in the city of city Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán may be destroyed. She said: "We're worried and trying to protect our businesses. "And of course, we're sad because it's our heritage, our legacy that from one moment to another could be destroyed."