ANKARA

Hurricane Delta made landfall Wednesday near Cancun, Mexico after weakening to a Category 2 storm and roared ashore the Yucatan Peninsula, according to the Mexican National Meteorology Service.

The storm is currently packing sustained winds of a 165 kph (102 mph) while heading northwest.

The Yucatan Peninsula is the northeastern projection of Central America which separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico.

Authorities said more than 75,000 tourists were evacuated from the area.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds are expected within portions of the northern Yucatan Peninsula during the next few hours, urging people to stay in storm shelters.

It said heavy rainfall will affect portions of western Cuba and the northern Yucatan Peninsula through early Thursday and rainfall could lead to "significant" flash flooding and mudslides.

There is an "increasing likelihood" that the storm will affect the US states of Louisiana and Mississippi, it warned.