Hurricane Trudy looms over Mexico's Pacific coast, severe rainfall expected

MEXICO CITY, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Hurricane Trudy moved parallel to Mexico's western coast on Thursday, threatening further rain and strong winds in a region already battered in recent weeks by storms that left behind several deaths and severe flooding. The storm, located about 480 km (298 miles) south-southwest of beach town Acapulco, packed maximum sustained winds of 120 kph (75 mph) and is moving northwest, the US-based National Hurricane Center said in a morning advisory. • Trudy, a Category 1 hurricane, is forecast to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane on Friday. • The storm is then expected to approach Mexico's Pacific coast with heavy rains forecast in the states of Colima and Jalisco, increasing the risk of life-threatening flooding and landslides, the NHC and Mexican authorities warned. • Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Simon is nearly stationary farther northwest offshore, after dropping heavy rain along the coast earlier as a hurricane. • Simon is forecast to move northwest, grazing the Baja California peninsula over the weekend, the NHC added. (Reporting by Raul Cortes, Additional reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Editing by Kylie Madry) ((Aida.Pelaez-Fernandez@thomsonr