Hurricane Erick slammed into Mexico’s Oaxaca state as a dangerous Category 3 storm Thursday morning, unleashing powerful winds at the coast while spreading heavy rain over the region.

Powerful Hurricane Erick made landfall in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca early Thursday, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.

Erick was nearing landfall along the western coast of Mexico as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday, as forecasters warned it had "extremely destructive winds near its core."