Powerful Hurricane Erick made landfall in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca early Thursday, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.

Hurricane Erick slammed into Mexico’s Oaxaca state as a dangerous Category 3 storm Thursday morning, unleashing powerful winds at the coast while spreading heavy rain over the region.

Hurricane Erick is forecast to strike the southern coast of Mexico after being upgraded to an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 early Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. After becoming a hurricane in the eastern Pacific Ocean early on June 18,