From quake to hurricane: More fatal casualties in Mexico as shattered country faces Katia
At least two people died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katia in Mexico, local authorities report. The country has been dealing with twin national emergencies this week: at least a further 65 people had already been killed in an earthquake, the strongest in decades.
Hurricane Katia hit the mainland on Friday night, roaring onshore north of the city of Tecolutla in Veracruz state on Mexico's eastern coast.
It brought with it intense rain, as well as winds of up to 75mph (120kph).
The storm has deluged the mountainous region in Veracruz, which has a history of deadly floods and mudslides.
At least two people were killed in a mudslide in the wake of the hurricane, Veracruz Governor Miguel Angel Yunes said.
The official added that the storm had left some 70,000 people without electricity and caused damage in 53 of the Gulf state's 212 municipalities, Reuters reports. Local officials also said some rivers had risen to near flood stage, according to AP.
Nearly 2,900 people have been evacuated from their homes in Veracruz, and 1,500 more relocated to storm shelters in the neighboring Puebla state, AP reports.
The country has been dealing with the arrival of the Gulf coast hurricane while parts of it are already in ruins following a magnitude 8.1 earthquake. The quake hit the southern Pacific coast of Mexico just before midnight on Thursday, becoming one of the most powerful earthquakes the Latin American country had ever experienced.
Hundreds of buildings were toppled across a number of southern states, with the hardest-hit being Juchitan and Oaxaca.
Despite the hurricane's arrival, authorities in the mourning country have been working to re-establish supplies of water and food, as well as providing medical assistance to those who suffered from the quake.
Many people remained in the streets, fearing aftershocks. Many homes were totally destroyed; others were weakened by the tremor, making them more vulnerable to the storm.
"With the rains it gets much more complicated because the homes were left very weak, with cracks,'' a human rights worker from the state of Chiapas told AP.
