MEXICO CITY, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Delta strengthened into a category 4 tropical cyclone on Tuesday morning as it roared toward the Mexican Caribbean, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) said.

Delta is expected to lash the southeast state of Quintana Roo, home to famed tourism resort Cancun, with heavy rains, strong winds and waves of up to 10 meters in height.

Delta's wind speed increased at 10 a.m. local time to 215 km per hour, with gusts of 250 km per hour, the agency said, calling it a "dangerous" hurricane.

According to the agency's forecast, Delta could make landfall in Quintana Roo as a category 4 hurricane, on a scale of five, in the early hours of Wednesday morning before crossing into the neighboring state of Yucatan.

Mexico activated a red alert for parts of its Caribbean coast and islands, sparking the evacuation of the Cancun hotel zone and other locations, the National Coordination of Civil Protection

Quintana Roo Gov. Carlos Joaquin said airports in Cancun and the island of Cozumel were expected to close Tuesday afternoon.