2 dead after storm Katia makes landfall in Mexico
Tropical depression moving slowly near Sierra Madre Mountains
Two people died Saturday in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz in Mexico after storm Katia made landfall and stalled, dumping heavy rain.
State Gov. Miguel Angel said the two died in the mountainous region in a mudslide related to Katia, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm and then a tropical depression after coming ashore late Friday.
Katia made landfall near the working-class beach resort of Tecolutla, as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 120 km/h.the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The storm has grown weaker has it moves into the interior of Mexico, but could still dump heavy rains on areas that have absorbed large amounts of precipitation and been shaken by a massive earthquake in recent days.
The centre said the storm would stall near the Sierra Madre Mountains.
Veracruz state officials said in a statement on Friday that the storm could cause landslides and flooding, and urged people living below hills and slopes to be prepared to evacuate.
Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico's national emergency services, said this week that Katia has "worrying characteristics" because it is very slow-moving and could dump a lot of rain on areas that have been saturated in recent weeks.
State energy company Pemex has installations in and around the coast of Veracruz but has not reported any disruption to its operations.
Mexico is also dealing with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake on Thursday night. The quake, the strongest to strike the country in more than 80 years, killed at least 61 people.
As Katia was making landfall, Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, walloped Cuba's northern coast as a Category 5 storm.
Millions of Florida residents were ordered to evacuate after the storm killed 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left catastrophic destruction in its wake.
Hurricane Jose continued to gather strength far out in the Atlantic and was nearing Category 5 strength as it churned about 700 kilometres east-southeast of the Northern Leeward Islands.
With files from The Associated Press