At least 8 killed after hurricane slams Gulf Coast

VERACRUZ, Mexico — Hurricane Grace hit Mexico’s gulf shore as a major Category 3 storm before weakening on Saturday, drenching coastal and inland areas in its second landfall in the country in two days. At least eight people died, authorities said.

The storm had lost power while crossing over the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, swirling through Mexico’s main tourist strip, but it rapidly drew in power from the relatively warm Gulf of Mexico before reaching the Mexican coast again late Friday.

At least eight people, including children, died and three were missing after mudslides and flooding, said Cuitlahuac Garcia, governor of Mexico’s Veracruz state. Garcia said 330,000 people lost power in the storm but it was gradually being restored.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Grace, downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday, had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. It was centered about 35 miles northwest of Mexico City and heading southwest. It made landfall with winds of 125 mph.

Grace lost strength as it swirled inland over a mountain range carrying its heavy rains toward the heart of the country.

Hours before nearing shore on Friday, Grace caused strong winds, high waves and rain in the Veracruz communities of Tuxpan, Poza Rica, Xalapa and Veracruz city as well as in coastal towns in the states of Tabasco and Tamaulipas, Mexico’s meteorological agency said.

Fishermen pulled boats out of the water and carried them inside harbors as the storm’s leading edge whipped at the coast. Merchants boarded up the windows of their businesses to protect them.

The hurricane hit early Thursday near Tulum, a Yucatan resort town famed for its Mayan ruins. Some families passed harrowing hours sheltering from cracking trees and flying debris.

Many streets were blocked by fallen limbs and trees that pulled down power lines, leaving thousands in the dark.

Quintana Roo state Gov. Carlos Joaquin said the storm had knocked out power to some 84,000 customers in Cancun and 65,000 in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Puerto Aventura and Tulum.

Heriberto Montes Ortiz, the head of the General Technical Sub-Directorate of Mexico’s National Water Commission, said Grace could cause rivers and streams to swell as well as flooding in low-lying areas, landslides and damage to roads and highways.

Felix Marquez / Associated Press A resident of Tecolutla in Mexico’s Veracruz state inspects damage after a part of his home collapsed when Hurricane Grace hit the region. The storm struck as a Category 3 hurricane.