Two killed and 14 missing as Hurricane Barbara batters Mexico with 60mph winds and intense rainfall
- Man, 61, from Colorado, died while surfing on at Playa Azul
- Mexican man, 26, died while trying to cross a river
- 14 fisherman have disappeared during storm
- Hurricane Barbara hit Mexico's southern Pacific coast
PUBLISHED: 03:24 EST, 30 May 2013 | UPDATED: 10:05 EST, 30 May 2013
Two men have been killed after Hurricane Barbara hit Mexico's southern Pacific coast yesterday, flooding roads and toppling trees before weakening to a tropical storm as it spread inland.
There were reports of 60mph winds and intense rainfall battering the coast, which prompted authorities to erect shelters and suspend schools as it tried to deal with the storm.
Local emergency services said a 61-year-old U.S male surfer drowned during the storm. A 26-year-old Mexican man was killed as he tried to cross a river.
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Tropical storm 'Barbara' became a category 1 hurricane as it hit the coasts in Oaxaca and Chiapas, in southern Mexico
Hurricane Barbara drenched the sparsely populated stretch of Mexico's southern Pacific coast
The director of civil defense for Oaxaca state, Manuel Maza Sanchez, said the surfer, from Colorado, died while surfing at Playa Azul, a beach near the resort town of Puerto Escondido, when Barbara hit as a Category 1 hurricane about 120 miles (200 kilometers) to the east.
He said the man was dragged out by waves kicked up by Barbara and then battered against the shore.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City was not immediately able to confirm the man's name, nationality or hometown.
Maza Sanchez also said the Mexican drowned in the nearby city of Pinotepa Nacional while trying to cross a rain-swollen creek.
Very strong winds and intense rainfall had hit the region and power outages were reported
A police officer walks outside a damaged store covered in broken glass caused by high winds after Hurricane Barbara passed through Arriaga
According to media reports, 14 fishermen disappeared in the state of Oaxaca during the storm, but local emergency services said they could not confirm that information.
The hurricane was churning north-northeast at about 9mph and is expected to weaken rapidly overnight, the NHC said.
Mr Maza said that very strong winds and intense rainfall had hit the region and that power outages were reported.
Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex said that operations were normal at its biggest refinery, located in the port of Salina Cruz. The plant has the capacity to process 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Ports for small vessels in the area have been closed and emergency services in Oaxaca said they evacuated residents from some areas as a precaution, including the immediate vicinity of the refinery.
This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite image shows the southern Pacific coastal area of Mexico, where the hurricane killed two men
Tropical Storm Barbara became a hurricane in the Pacific as it neared Mexico's southern coast and forged a course towards the country's biggest oil refinery
It drenched the sparsely populated stretch of Mexico with rain after making the second-earliest landfall since reliable record-keeping began in 1966.
On May 23, the National Hurricane Center had said odds favoured a below-normal hurricane season in the eastern Pacific for 2013.
It said 11 to 16 named storms were likely, below the 15-storm annual average for 1981-2010.
But Barbara appeared to start the Pacific season unusually early, and such storms often form closer to the resort of Acapulco, to the west.
Officials in Oaxaca had rushed to prepare emergency shelters and suspended school for children in coastal communities as rain began lashing the coast when the storm formed close to shore.
The area first hit by the storm is a largely undeveloped stretch of coastal lagoons, punctuated by small fishing villages.
The major Gulf oil port of Coatzacoalcos is located on the other side of the narrow waist of Mexico known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
But the hurricane center predicted Barbara would dissipate into a rain system well before reaching Coatzacoalcos.
Maza Sanchez said classes would be suspended at schools along the coast for the rest of the week.
Storm shelters were set up in 20 towns and hamlets, and such shelters are often installed at schools.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2333151/Hurricane-Barbara-Two-killed-14-missing-60mph-winds-intense-rainfall.html#ixzz2Upoqg421
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