MEXICO, September 2 (RIA Novosti) - Over 5,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the western Mexican state of Baja California Sur as one of the season's strongest hurricanes headed for the area, a civil defense spokesman said on Wednesday.

Hurricane Jimena, which has weakened from the most dangerous Category 5 to Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is due to make landfall on Wednesday.

Shelters, with a capacity of 15,000 people, have been set up to accommodate the evacuees. Many people, however, stayed at home amid fears that their dwellings might be looted.

Airports and ports have been closed in the provincial capital La Paz and the popular resort city of Los Cabos.

Jimena is the second hurricane to his the Central American state this season. In June, a fisherman was killed by the Hurricane Andres in the southern Mexican city of Acapulco.

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued a warning that Tropical Storm Erika has formed in the Atlantic, east of Antigua and Barbuda, which is likely to grow stronger in the next few days.