Big storms hit Mexico on opposite coasts; 21 dead

by JOSE ANTONIO RIVERA, Associated Press

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) -- The remnants of Tropical Storm Manuel continued to deluge Mexico's southwestern Pacific shoulder with dangerous rains while Hurricane Ingrid weakened to a tropical storm after making a Monday landfall on the country's opposite coast in an unusual double onslaught that federal authorities said had caused at least 21 deaths.

The heaviest blow Sunday fell on the southern coastal state of Guerrero, where Mexico's government reported 14 confirmed deaths. State officials said people had been killed in landslides, drownings in a swollen river and a truck crash on a rain-slickened mountain highway.

Mexico's federal Civil Protection coordinator, Luis Felipe Puente, told reporters late Sunday that stormy weather from one or both of the two systems also caused three deaths in Hidalgo, three in Puebla and one in Oaxaca.

Getting hit by a tropical storm and a hurricane at the same time "is completely atypical" for Mexico, Juan Manuel Caballero, coordinator of the country's National Weather Service, said at a news conference with Puente.

Authorities in the Gulf states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz evacuated more than 7,000 people from low-lying areas as the hurricane closed in, and the prospect of severe weather prompted some communities to cancel Independence Day celebrations planned for Sunday and Monday.

Manuel came ashore as a tropical storm Sunday afternoon near the Pacific port of Manzanillo, but quickly began losing strength and was downgraded to a tropical depression late Sunday, although officials warned its rains could still cause flash floods and mudslides. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the system dissipated early Monday.

The rains caused some rivers to overflow in Guerrero, damaging hundreds of homes and disrupting communications for several hours.

Early Monday, Manuel's remnants had maximum sustained winds of about 30 mph (45 kph) and was moving to the northwest at 8 mph (13 kph). It was about 5 miles (10 kilometers) west of Puerto Vallarta.

Manuel was expected to dump up to 15 inches of rain over parts of Guerrero and Michoacan states, with maximums of 25 inches possible in some isolated areas. Rains of 5 to 10 inches were possible in the states of Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit, with possible maximums of 20 inches in some places. Authorities said the rains presented a dangerous threat in mountains, where flash floods and mudslides were possible.

Ingrid also was expected to bring very heavy rains. It had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph) early Monday and was centered about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the coastal town of La Pesca in the border state of Tamaulipas. It was moving west-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph). A tropical storm warning was in effect from La Cruz to Rio San Fernando.

More than 1,000 homes in Veracruz state had been affected by the storm to varying degrees, and 20 highways and 12 bridges were damaged, the state's civil protection authority said. A bridge collapsed near the northern Veracruz city of Misantla on Friday, cutting off the area from the state capital, Xalapa.

Thirteen people died in the state this month when a landslide buried their homes in heavy rains spawned by Tropical Depression Fernand.

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Associated Press writers Rodrigo Soberanes Santin in Xalapa and Veracruz and Efrain Klerigan in Ciudad Victoria contributed to this report.