Agatha, the first hurricane of the Pacific season, was swiftly strengthening off the western coast of Mexico, where it is expected to make landfall today as a Category Three storm, according to the country's weather service.

High sea temperatures and the hurricane's moderate speed could allow it ample time to strengthen before making landfall, said Alejandra Mendez, general coordinator of the National Weather Service of Mexico (SMN).

As of yesterday afternoon, Agatha had reached Category Two status on the Saffir-Simpson scale while churning approximately 295 kilometers (185 miles) west of Puerto Angel, Mexico.

"It is expected that the hurricane will make landfall as a Category 3 between Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, Oaxaca," Mendez said, adding that she anticipated landfall yesterday.

According to a US National Hurricane Center (NHC) report at 2100 GMT, Agatha was packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour. She was heading north at around two kilometers per hour.

Beginning on Saturday, authorities in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Chiapas urged inhabitants to take precautionary steps, including securing their property along the coast and seeking shelter. Additionally, they shut down the ports of Oaxaca and Guerrero.

Popular surfing hotspots Puerto Escondido and Huatulco constructed temporary shelters to house 26,800 people and made arrangements for the possible accommodation of an additional 5,200 individuals in local hotels.

In general, from May and November, both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Mexico are ravaged by storms.