By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF    

After having been downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 3, Hurricane Willa is set to slam into Mexico’s west coast in the early evening hours of Tuesday, Oct. 23, according to the Mexican Secretariat of the Interior (SeGob).

But while Willa’s wind intensity — which reached 160 miles per hour late Monday – has decreased to just 125 miles per hour winds, SeGob warned that it still poses a significant threat to coastal cities in the southwestern states of Jalisco, Durango, Sinaloa and Nayarit, where it is expected to make landfall about 6 p.m. local time.

Resort towns such as Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta are bracing for the storm and up to 18 inches of rain, which could lead to severe flooding.

Thousands of people have already been evacuated in Sinaloa and Nayarit, where Willa’s forth is expected to be felt the hardest.

Flights in and out of Mazatlán have also been suspended.

Local governments in all four states, working with the National Water Commission (Conagua), have set up emergency shelters for those who need to evacuate their homes.