Mexico's bustling port city of Manzanillo was bracing Tuesday for the arrival of Hurricane Jova, a powerful storm that forecasters said could unleash torrential rains and life-threatening mudslides. The Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said in a 2100 GMT bulletin that Jova eased slightly but was still packing maximum sustained winds of 160 km/h (100 mph), churning about 140 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of Manzanillo, in Colima state. A category two storm, Jova was moving north-northeast at nine kilometers (six miles) per hour, with its expected arrival in Manzanillo later Tuesday. "The center of the hurricane will be near the coast of Mexico in the hurricane warning area by this afternoon or evening," the NHC said, adding it expected the storm to reach the coast at "near major hurricane strength." Mexico has issued hurricane alerts for large swaths of the Pacific coast and placed four southern coastal states on high alert ahead of the expected arrival of the storm. A zone of some 500 kilometers (300 miles) could be affected by the storm, stretching from the port of Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan to the popular tourist area of Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco. Colima, Jalisco, Michoacan and Nayarit state to the north were all put on guard for possible landslides from heavy rain expected to be dumped by the ninth Pacific hurricane of the season. "A dangerous storm surge is expected to produce significant coastal flooding near and to the east of where the center makes landfall," the NHC warned. The surge, said the hurricane center, "will be accompanied by large and destructive waves" as well as torrential rainfall with accumulations of up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) in some areas. "These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain," the NHC warned. Several major storms or hurricanes have buffeted Mexico's Pacific coast in recent months but most have remained offshore. The season's first named storm, Arlene, left at least 16 people dead and drenched much of the country in July. Tropical storms and hurricanes last year caused flooding and mudslides in Mexico that killed 125 people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and caused more than $4 billion in damage. Authorities are keeping their fingers crossed that any damage caused by the storm will not affect the 16th Pan American Games, one of the major events on the international sports calendar, to be held from October 14-30, 2011 in Jalisco, and other cities including Ciudad Guzman, Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno and Tapalpa. Some 6,000 athletes from 42 nations are expected to participate in the two week long event.