MAZATLAN, Mexico — Emergency workers struggled to reach beach towns left incommunicado by a blow from Hurricane Willa on Wednesday, and the storm continued to force evacuations due to fear of flooding even as it dissipated over northern Mexico.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or missing people, but the storm’s 120 mph winds damaged a hospital, knocked out power, toppled wood-shack homes and ripped metal roofing off other houses in the Sinaloa state municipality of Escuinapa.

The state civil defense office said the hospital’s ceiling and some other areas were damaged in the city.

The worst damage was expected to be in some coastal communities that were cut off by road and without communications.

Workers were trying to remove toppled power poles and trees blocking the road.

In the farming neighborhood of Pueblo Nuevo, about a half-mile away from Escuinapa’s center, residents described how the wind swept up their tin roofs and wooden house frames while they took shelter under their heaviest furniture.

In Nayarit state, Gov. Antonio Echevarria asked the federal government to send a helicopter, boats, rescue equipment, and said the state is trying to evacuate people in communities at risk of flooding.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm — which peaked as a Category 5 with winds of 160 mph over the Pacific Ocean on Monday — rapidly lost force and dissipated over northern Mexico on Wednesday morning.

Judge: Ga. can’t reject mail ballots for signature mismatch

ATLANTA — A federal judge says Georgia election officials must stop rejecting absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications because of a mismatched signature without first giving voters a chance to fix the problem.

U.S. District Judge Leigh May on Wednesday ordered the secretary of state’s office to instruct county election officials to stop the practice for the November midterm elections. She outlined a procedure to allow voters to resolve alleged signature discrepancies.

May’s order comes in response to two lawsuits filed earlier this month allege that election officials are improperly rejecting absentee ballots. The lawsuits said the rejections violated voters’ constitutional rights.

May gave the parties until noon Thursday to say whether the language in her order is “confusing or will be unworkable.”

Arctic offshore production wells are OK’d for Alaska’s coast

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The first oil and gas production wells in federal Arctic waters have been approved by U.S. regulators.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Wednesday announced it issued a conditional permit for the Liberty Project, a proposal by a subsidiary of Houston-based Hilcorp for production wells on an artificial island in the Beaufort Sea.

The approval follows through on President Donald Trump’s promise of American energy dominance, said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling and have expressed concerns about the production record of Hilcorp Alaska LLC. State authorities in 2017 fined the company $200,000 for violations at another production site.

U.N. investigators: Genocide still taking place in Myanmar

UNITED NATIONS — Genocide is still taking place against Rohingya Muslims remaining in Myanmar and the government is increasingly demonstrating it has no interest in establishing a fully functioning democracy, U.N. investigators said Wednesday.

Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar, said thousands of Rohingya are still fleeing to Bangladesh, and the estimated 250,000 to 400,000 who have remained after last year’s brutal military campaign in the Buddhist-majority country “continue to suffer the most severe” restrictions and repression.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government “is in total denial” about accusations that the military raped, murdered and tortured Rohingya, investigators said.

Super Typhoon Yutu lashes Northern Marianas

HONOLULU — Super Typhoon Yutu was crossing over the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands producing damaging winds, flooding and high surf.

Maximum sustained winds of 180 mph were recorded around the eye of the storm, which passed over Tinian and Saipan early Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

On Wednesday night, the National Weather Service in Guam issued dire warnings of possible destruction of homes and other buildings.

The update warned of flying debris, falling glass from blown-out windows, electricity and water outages for days or weeks after the storm passes and fallen trees isolating residents.

A super typhoon is the equivalent of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. The Northern Marianas are about 3,800 miles west of Hawaii.

Russia vows to target nations that accept U.S. missiles

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that if the United States deploys intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will have to target the nations that would host them.

The stern statement follows President Donald Trump’s announcement over the weekend that he intends to opt out of a 1987 nuclear arms control pact over alleged Russian violations.

Putin said he hoped the United States wouldn’t follow up by positioning intermediate-range missiles in Europe.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the Western military alliance’s members blame Russia for developing a new missile in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, but he doesn’t expect them to beef up nuclear arsenals in Europe in response

In Yemen: The Saudi-led coalition has sent reinforcements to Yemen’s west coast ahead of a fresh assault on the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, Yemeni officials said Wednesday.

The city is a lifeline for international aid deliveries, and the battle to wrest it from the rebels has fallen into a stalemate.

In Iraq: Iraq’s parliament has confirmed Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s new government while leaving key Cabinet posts unfilled.

The legislature voted in the early hours Thursday to confirm 14 of Abdul-Mahdi’s 22 Cabinet nominees, giving him the ministers he needs to convene his government.