"LOS CABOS, Mexico – Emergency workers struggled to evacuate thousands of reluctant slum dwellers as extremely dangerous Hurricane Jimena approached Mexico's resort-studded Baja California Peninsula on Tuesday.

Jimena, just short of Category 5 status with winds of near 155 mph (250 kph), could rake the harsh desert region fringed with picturesque beaches and fishing villages as a major storm by Tuesday evening

Police, firefighters and navy personnel drove through shantytowns, trying to persuade some 10,000 people to evacuate shacks made of plastic sheeting, wood, reeds and even blankets."

Mark Stevenson reports for the Associated Press September 1, 2009. [2]