Three people died and many thousands were evacuated in eastern Mexico as Tropical Storm Lorezno brought heavy rains on Friday, and the storm was later downgraded to a tropical depression, reported dpa. The governor of the central state of Puebla, Mario Marin, said one woman and two children died in the town of Chinconcuatla when a landslide crushed their home in the state's North Sierra, near the state of Veracruz. In Veracruz and in the state of Hidalgo, thousands of people remained in emergency shelters because of the danger of overflowing rivers and mudslides. The authorities in oil-rich Veracruz originally ordered the evacuation of some 100,000 people from 38 towns Friday, but some of them have since returned to their homes. A further 160 people were evacuated in Hidalgo. Meteorologists said potentially dangerous floods were expected, and power was cut in nine cities as a preventative measure. After becoming a category-one hurricane with sustained winds of up to 130 kilometres an hour over the Gulf of Mexico, Lorenzo made landfall early Friday in the state of Veracruz, and its effects could also be felt in several states and in Mexico City. As expected, the storm became weaker over land and became a tropical depression, the US National Hurricane Centre said. Rivers across Veracruz overflowed, as feared, and there were landslides in mountainous inland areas. In August, at least 12 people died in Mexico as a result of Hurricane Dean.
