Tropical Storm Fernand Kills 14 In Mexican State Of Veracruz - News Update

Tropical storm Fernand left at least 14 people dead as it ravaged through the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico, where torrential rains continued on Monday and Tuesday. The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression according to local officials.

Nine of the deaths occurred in the town of Yecuatla in Misantla mountain territory, in the central area of the state, when a mountain broke off in the morning burying several houses under tons of rock while most of the inhabitants slept, according to the emergency services that responded to the tragedy.

Another three deaths occurred in the municipality of Tuxpan and one in the town of of Atzalan, also because of landslides.

"The emergency continues, even if the tropical storm Fernand is outside of our territory and has been downgraded to a tropical depression," the governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte, said in a message to the press.

"However, from experience we know that this kind of weather where real impact is in the amount of rainfall," he added.

Located about 75 miles west-southwest of Tuxpan, the remains of Fernand had maximum sustained winds of 30 miles per hour and dissipated further inland at about 9 miles per hour, the NHC said earlier on Monday.

The storm, which formed suddenly over the weekend, left streets and homes flooded and overflowing rivers all across the state. Veracrruz which is a major producer of sugar and coffee is specially vulnerable when it comes to overflowing rivers and high levels of precipitation.

As a precaution, hundreds of people were taken to shelters and school was suspended throughout the state, a region where the main ports are used for petrol exports.

The Mexico National Weather Service said heavy rains extended to the states of Tamaulipas, in the northeast, as well as to the central states of Puebla, Hidalgo, Mexico, Tlaxcala and San Luis Potosi.

Most of the Pemex rigs are located in the southern part of the state and were not expected to be affected by the storm according to a national spokesman for the state owned company.