CNN reports that heavy rains pelting northeastern Mexico left at least one person dead and thousands more in shelters as Hurricane Alex moved inland, Mexican emergency officials said early Thursday.
According to the CNN story, a contractor in Monterrey died when a wall fell on him as a result of the rain, Carlos Eduardo Aguilar of Nuevo Leon's Civil Protection agency said. CNN-affiliate Televisa reported that at least three other people died when a wall collapsed on them in Acapulco, on the country's Pacific coast.
Alex made landfall along the northeast Mexican coastline late Wednesday as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 100 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported. Forecasters downgraded the storm to a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday morning and said it would continue to weaken as it moved inland.
The center reported at 5 a.m. ET that Alex was weakening, but still a Category 1 hurricane, moving west at 12 mph with 80 mph maximum sustained winds. Residents on both sides of the border braced for additional flooding and tornadoes.
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