Mexican authorities warned Thursday the inhabitants of Yucatan Peninsula, east of the country, about the possibility that hurricane Emily hits the area on Sunday.

The National Meteorological Service (SMN) said in a statement that Emily is in the Caribbean, 2,700 km off the Mexican littoral.

The hurricane has sustained gusts of wind of 160 km per hour, even reaching 185, with the possibility of further increasing.

The Civil Protection authorities told the inhabitants of the states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatan to take precautions in the face of the new hurricane.

Emily follows a route similar to that followed by Abby in 1960 through the south of Yucatan Peninsula.

Alberto Hernandez, deputy chief of the SMN Weather Forecast Service, asked national and foreign tourists to avoid traveling this weekend to the region, in which the tourist resort of Cancun is located.

"Emily is extremely dangerous due to its potential route," Hernandez said.

He added that if its center touches the peninsula, the hurricane will cause rains and four-meter-high waves.

Emily descended upon the Caribbean a week after its predecessor Dennis devastated parts of Haiti, Cuba and Florida of the United States, leaving more than 60 people dead. Puerto Rico and Venezuela are also observing Emily's movement in fear of a possible hit.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2005)