Hurricane Paul speeds up on way to Mexico's Baja peninsula

MEXICO CITY Oct 16 (Reuters) - Hurricane Paul picked up speed as it churned toward a sparsely populated area of Mexico's Baja peninsula, where it was expected to make landfall by Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Paul, a Category 2 hurricane, was about 130 miles (210 kilometres) south of Cabo San Lazaro and was moving north-northeast at 21 miles per hour (33 km per hour) with maximum wind speeds of 110 miles per hour (175 km per hour), the center said on Tuesday.

"Little change in strength is expected prior to landfall," the center said, warning the storm would cause dangerous coastal waves and possible of flash floods.

The Mexican government has issued a hurricane warning from Santa Fe northward to Punta Abreojos on the country's western Baja peninsula, the center said. The storm is not expected to hit the tourist resorts of Los Cabos.

Mexico has no important oil installations along the Pacific coast. (Reporting By Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Vicki Allen)