FELIPE CARRILLO PUERTO, Mexico, Aug. 23, 2007

Dean, Weakened, Is Tropical Depression

After Coming Ashore In Mexico For 2nd Time, Pounding Cruise Ship Port & Oil Industry Hub

  • Play CBS Video Video Dean Isn't Done With Mexico

    Hurricane Dean, now a Category 2 storm, is headed for the Mexican mainland. Gwen Belton reports that the winds have slowed somewhat but some damage is still likely.

    • Mexican President Felipe Calderon talks to a hurricane victim in Los Monos, Chetumal, on the Yucatan peninsula, Aug. 22, 2007. Hurricane Dean was the strongest hurricane to hit land in the Atlantic region since 1988.

      Mexican President Felipe Calderon talks to a hurricane victim in Los Monos, Chetumal, on the Yucatan peninsula, Aug. 22, 2007. Hurricane Dean was the strongest hurricane to hit land in the Atlantic region since 1988.  (AP/Ariel Gutierrez/Presidencia)

    • People walk along a highway as Hurricane Dean makes landfall Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, near Martinez de la Torre, Mexico.

      People walk along a highway as Hurricane Dean makes landfall Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, near Martinez de la Torre, Mexico.  (AP/The Chronicle, James Nielsen)

    • A boy in Limones, in southeastern Mexico, sits in the ruins of what was his family's home, destroyed by Hurricane Dean, Aug. 22, 2007.

      A boy in Limones, in southeastern Mexico, sits in the ruins of what was his family's home, destroyed by Hurricane Dean, Aug. 22, 2007.  (AP)

    • Workers clean up branches and fallen trees in Chetumal, Mexico, Aug. 21, 2007.

      Workers clean up branches and fallen trees in Chetumal, Mexico, Aug. 21, 2007.  (Getty Images/Omar Torres)

    • Downed palm trees in Majahual, Mexico, in the Yucatan Peninsula, where the eye of Hurricane Dean made landfall Aug. 21 2007.

      Downed palm trees in Majahual, Mexico, in the Yucatan Peninsula, where the eye of Hurricane Dean made landfall Aug. 21 2007.  (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

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  • Photo Essay Dangerous Dean

    Hurricane Dean lashes Caribbean islands, on collision course with Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

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  • Interactive Storm Season

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(CBS/AP)  A sprawling Hurricane Dean slammed into Mexico for the second time in as many days and quickly stretched across to the Pacific Ocean Wednesday, drenching the central mountains with rain that swelled rivers before weakening into a tropical depression.

Coming ashore with top sustained winds of 100 mph, Dean's center hit the tourism and fishing town of Tecolutla shortly after civil defense workers loaded the last evacuees onto army trucks and headed to inland shelters.

There was no escaping the wide storm's hurricane-force winds, which lashed at a 60-mile stretch of the coast in Veracruz state.

At 10 p.m. local time, Dean was about 95 miles northwest of Mexico City and was heading westward about 21 mph. The Hurricane Center downgraded Dean to a tropical depression and predicted it would dissipate on Thursday over the mountains of central Mexico.

During the day Wednesday, Dean's hurricane strength sent thousands scrambling and had others hoping for the best as they rode out the storm.

"You can practically feel the winds, they're so strong," said Maria del Pilar Garcia, as Dean made landfall 40 miles north of the hotel she manages in Tuxpan. "I hope this passes quickly and the rivers don't overflow."

Sounds of crashing metal prompted farmer Moises Aguilar to take a dangerous risk in Monte Gordo, 20 miles down the coast from Tecolutla. At the height of the storm, he dashed outside his house, about 300 yards from the sea, and struggled against the wind as his neighbor's roof ripped apart.

"We've closed the curtains because we don't want to see what is going on out there," Aguilar said, his voice nearly drowned out by another crash. "I think that's more metal roofing from my garage."

Mexico had suspended offshore oil production and shut down its only nuclear power plant as tens of thousands headed for higher ground.

More than 14,000 workers were evacuated from off oil facilities in advance of the storm.

The state oil company said there is no known damage to any of its production facilities on shore or in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dean struck land Wednesday as a Category 2 storm after regaining some of the force it unleashed on the Yucatan. Its first strike on the peninsula came Tuesday as a Category 5 tempest with 165 mph winds was the third most intense Atlantic hurricane ever to make landfall.

Officials say there are no reports of deaths in Mexico directly caused by Dean, which killed 20 people in its earlier sweep through the Caribbean. The toll rose Wednesday when Haitian officials said seven more storm deaths had been reported in remote areas.

Continued



© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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by shanev137 August 23, 2007 8:31 AM EDT
Mexico had suspended offshore oil production and shut down its only nuclear power plant as tens of thousands headed for higher ground. More than 14,000 workers were evacuated from off oil facilities in advance of the storm. The state oil company said there is no known damage to any of its production facilities on shore or in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Let see, no damage but suspended production...I guess Dean was maybe worth maybe a nickel to a dime a gallon. Better luck next time Big Oil.
Reply to this comment
by candy-apple August 22, 2007 6:16 PM EDT
nolalou,
One can dream can''t they??
Reply to this comment
by nolalou August 22, 2007 6:02 PM EDT
candy-apple,

Only if they can earn the same wages there that they can make in construction jobs here!
Reply to this comment
by candy-apple August 22, 2007 5:08 PM EDT
I know I asked this question yesterday, but:
Does this mean that the Illegal Mexicans that are here to help rebuild (after Katrina) going to go home and help clean up and rebuild their own country???
Reply to this comment
by marcodele August 22, 2007 3:45 PM EDT
"Oil rich bay of Campeche?"

Shouldn''t we be invading them?
Reply to this comment
by shanev137 August 22, 2007 3:33 PM EDT
Yup...I''m surprised that gas isn''t back up to $3.50 a gallon yet. This might be the only hurricane they get this year.
Reply to this comment
by prairiefox1 August 22, 2007 3:15 PM EDT
IN OKLAHOMA THE GAS PRICE HAS JUMPED 15 CENTS!
THE OIL LOW LIFES ARE WAITING TO PICK YOUR POCKET WHEN EVER ANY ONE BREAKS WIND!
Reply to this comment
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