MEXICO CITY, July 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Mexican authorities have ordered a large-scale evacuation from Caribbean resorts and offshore oil platforms on the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday as Hurricane Emily is getting near Cancun and the Yucatan peninsula.

    About 85,000 people along the coast from Holbox Island to Tulum will be evacuated, and more than 15,000 workers of the state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos began leaving offshore oil platforms on the Gulf.

    Authorities said some 30,000 tourists in Cancun will also be relocated to larger, better-sheltered hotels on Sunday morning.

    Meteorological forecasts said Emily is expected to hit the Yucatan peninsula late Sunday or early Monday, before moving across the Gulf of Mexico and landing somewhere near the Mexico-USborder.

    Late Saturday, Emily was located about 210 km south-southwest of the Montego Bay, Jamaica, traveling west-northwest at a speed of 30 km per hour.

    Emily descended upon the Caribbean a week after its predecessor Dennis devastated parts of Haiti, Cuba and Florida of the United States, leaving more than 60 people dead.

    Puerto Rico and Venezuela are also closely following Emily's movement in fear of a possible hit. Enditem