Mexico prepares for heavy rain in South

Mexico is preparing for extremely heavy rain expected to soak its southern Pacific coast, in what could be an unusually early beginning to the 2014 hurricane season. The government of Guerrero state said Wednesday it is intensifying precautions. The Pacific-coast state was hit in September by tropical storms Manuel and Ingrid, whose combined flooding and landslides caused about 130 deaths. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said an area of low pressure located about 640 kilometers south-southwest of the port of Manzanillo has a 50 percent chance of becoming a cyclone by Friday. The weather system will cause heavy rain along the coast. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season officially begins May 15.