Washington/Mexico City - At least two people died in Mexico
as a result of Hurricane Dolly, officials said Thursday as the now
weakened storm continued to dump rain along the US-Mexican border.
Dolly, which struck as a category two hurricane near South Padre
Island, Texas on Wednesday, has weakened to a tropical storm with
sustained winds of 65 kilometres per hour, the National Hurricane
Centre in Miami said. It was expected to weaken further throughout
the day.
The storm now located inland north-west of Laredo, Texas,
population 215,000, could produce 20 to 30 centimetres of rain in
many inland areas near the Rio Grande river, with some places in
south Texas and north-eastern Mexico receiving up to 50 centimetres.
Forecasters warned of widespread flooding and possible tornadoes.
Authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas said one man was
electrocuted by an electric cable that had been blown down by the
storm.
Along the coast of Yucatan state, the body of a fisherman was
found, newspaper reports said. He had gone missing along with three
other men on Sunday off the coast of Cancun as the storm approached,
and the other men may also have died in the storm.
In the United States at least one person was reported injured.
President George W Bush on Thursday declared a major disaster area
for 15 Texas counties, freeing up federal disaster aid for residents
and businesses.
Dolly's 160-kilometre-per-hour winds damaged roofs and windows
when it came ashore, ripping up trees and tearing traffic signals
from their poles.
In Tamaulipas 36,000 people were evacuated, and 2,800 people fled
the storm on the US side of the border.
More than 120,000 people in Tamaulipas and 50,000 people in Texas
were without electricity.
USA
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