MERIDA, Mexico, Sept 13 (AFP) - Mexico evacuated thousands of people from the Yucatan peninsula and put the resort city of Cancun on alert late Sunday as it waited for the arrival of Hurricane Ivan, which has killed 46 on its devastating sweep through the Caribbean.
Some 2,500 people from Holbox, Contoy, Isla Blanca and Palo Bravo islands, at the northeastern edge of the Yucatan peninsula, were evacuated, authorities said.
Hundreds more were sent away from the tourist isle of Cozumel and other coastal areas in Quintana Roo and Yucatan states.
Some 30,000 Mexican and foreign tourists are staying at hotels in Cancun, nearby Isla Mujeres and other resorts in the region, Mexican officials said.
Ivan was hundreds of kilometers (miles) east of the Mexican coast early Monday, bearing down on Cuba, but hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings were in effect for northeastern Yucatan Peninsula.
"Ivan represents an extremely severe risk for Quintana Roo, Yucatan, and other parts of eastern Mexico," said Marcos Lugo of Mexico's National Meteorological Service.
Meanwhile Pacific Hurricane Javier, a category one storm, was drenching parts of southwestern Mexico early Monday.
Authorities were monitoring its effect on coastal areas of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, Jalisco and Nayarit states.
Three fishermen went missing Sunday night as rain and strong winds hit the region, civil protection authorities said. But they reported no casualties at Acapulco and other coastal resorts.