Tropical Storm Frank strengthened into the third Pacific hurricane in the 2010 season on Wednesday, veering west after soaking Mexico's southern Pacific coast, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.

At 1500 GMT Hurricane Frank packed maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, making it a Category One hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, the NHC said.

Frank was located about 170 miles (270 kilometers) south of Manzanillo, Mexico, and was moving in a west-northwesterly direction at 10 miles (17 kilometers) per hour, the NHC reported.

On its current trajectory Frank is not expected to make landfall, though it will pass near tiny Socorro Island on Friday.

"Additional strengthening is possible during the next day or two," the NHC said.

Heavy rain from Frank on Tuesday flooded homes, triggered landslides and damaged roads and bridges in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, affecting more than 100 towns, local officials said.

Authorities evacuated at least 3,000 people in Oaxaca, and several thousand more in the neighboring state of Veracruz, where rivers burst their banks.

Separately, Hurricane Danielle -- the second hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season -- churned far out over the ocean Wednesday with winds reaching sustained speeds of 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour, the NHC said at 1500 GMT.

The Category One hurricane was located east of the Lesser Antilles moving towards the northwest at about 17 kilometers (28 miles) per hour.

Danielle is expected to slow its movement but could strengthen in the next 48 hours, the NHC said. There were no current threats to land, it added.

Meteorological models show Danielle striking the Bermudas Sunday or Monday, missing the US East Coast, and by next week possibly threatening the Canadian coast to the north.

earlier related report
Lightning kills 25 in India, heavy rains strike Delhi
New Delhi, India (AFP) Aug 25, 2010 - At least 25 people were killed by lightning in the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, officials said Wednesday, as monsoon storms lashed much of the country.

Torrential rains and strong winds uprooted trees, damaged houses and brought down power cables across the impoverished states on Tuesday night.

The capital New Delhi has also been hit by a month of heavy downpours that have put preparations for the Commonwealth Games in October further behind schedule.

The monsoon has so far dumped more rain on Delhi this month than it has in any other August over the last 15 years, the meteorological department said.

About 1,500 people have been evacuated from close to the river Yamuna that flows through the capital, the Press Trust of India reported.