Hurricane John ripped toward Mexico's southern coast on Monday after rapidly intensifying over the eastern Pacific Ocean, surprising authorities who called for residents of some coastal areas to head for cover.

Hurricane John made landfall along Mexico's southern Pacific coast as a Category 3 Storm on Monday night, per the National Hurricane Center. The big picture: The major hurricane made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph just to the south-southwest of Marquelia, in the state of Guerrero, the NHC said.

Hurricane John, a compact but powerful storm, came ashore on Mexico’s Pacific coast — pushing a dangerous surge in front of it and unleashing deadly flooding rains across the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca.