Major hurricane Trudy keeps strengthening as it nears Mexico's Pacific coast

Oct 16 (Reuters) - Hurricane Trudy rapidly intensified into a major hurricane on Friday morning, carrying ‌maximum sustained winds near 120 mph (195 kph) and ‌higher gusts, as it moves closer to Mexico's Pacific coast.

Additional ​strengthening is still forecast before Trudy is expected to approach the Mexican coast on Saturday as a life-threatening major hurricane, the US-based National Hurricane Center said.

"Trudy has ‌the potential to ⁠even reach Category 4 or 5 intensity," said Alex DaSilva, a hurricane meteorologist ⁠at private forecaster AccuWeather.

Mexico's civil protection agency asked residents to start preparations for the storm's arrival by securing ​doors and ​windows, and removing objects ​that could be thrown ‌around by the strong winds.

The hurricane will strike Mexico's Pacific coast, a region that has already been battered in recent weeks by storms that left several dead and caused severe flooding.

Located about 250 miles (400 ‌km) south-southwest of resort city ​Acapulco, the storm is expected ​to produce up ​to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in ‌the states of Michoacan, Colima and ​Jalisco, increasing ​the risk of life-threatening flooding and landslides, according to the NHC.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Simon continues to ​weaken farther northwest ‌offshore, after dropping heavy rain along the ​coast earlier as a hurricane.

(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; ​Editing by Toby Chopra)