5 Dead From Hurricane Lorenzo's Mudslides And Floods

VERACRUZ, Mexico - Hurricane Lorenzo's pounding rains caused mudslides and floods that killed at least five people, slashed roads and drove tens of thousands from their homes in eastern Mexico.

SAN RAFAEL, Mexico - Hurricane Lorenzo crashed into Mexico’s Gulf coast before dawn Friday, ripping apart shacks, uprooting trees and sending billboards flying through the air.

Following roughly the same path as deadly Hurricane Dean in August, Lorenzo quickly weakened to a tropical storm that moved inland and drenched Veracruz state’s lush mountains. Rivers snaking through the countryside quickly filled with roaring water.

In the farming town of San Rafael, residents were scooping water out of flooded homes and trying to keep their belongings dry as a nearby river threatened to overflow its banks.

MIAMI (AFP) — Tropical Storm Lorenzo strengthened into a hurricane and slammed ashore early Friday along one of Mexico's oil producing regions, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The Category One hurricane -- the lowest on the five-level Simpson-Saffir scale -- was located just inland, and some 65 kilometers (40 miles) east-southeast of Tuxpan at 0600 GMT Friday, the Miami-based Hurricane Center reported.

Scores of offshore oil rigs are located in the area off Tuxpan.

Coastal areas began preparing for a potential deluge. Lorenzo's center was projected to hit land Friday morning near the small port of Tuxpan.

...WEAKENING LORENZO PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINS... A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM VERACRUZ NORTHWARD TO CABO ROJO. THIS WARNING WILL LIKELY BE DISCONTINUED LATER THIS MORNING. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 700 AM CDT...1200Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM LORENZO WAS ESTIMATED NEAR LATITUDE 20.7 NORTH...LONGITUDE 98.0 WEST OR ABOUT 40 MILES...65 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF TUXPAN MEXICO. LORENZO IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 7 MPH...11 KM/HR. THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY BRINGING THE CENTER OF LORENZO FARTHER INLAND OVER EAST-CENTRAL MEXICO. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED TO 40 MPH...65 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RAPID WEAKENING IS FORECAST TODAY AS LORENZO MOVES FARTHER INLAND. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 45 MILES...75 KM...MAINLY TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER. ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1000 MB...29.52 INCHES. LORENZO IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES...WITH POSSIBLE ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES... OVER PORTIONS OF EAST-CENTRAL MEXICO. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES. REPEATING THE 700 AM CDT POSITION...20.7 N...98.0 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...WEST NEAR 7 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...40 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1000 MB.