VEGA DE ALATORRE, Mexico, Sept 18, 2010 (AFP) - A weakened tropical depression Karl moved over eastern Mexico Saturday after claiming two lives and battering the region with heavy winds and rains. But it was gradually losing its punch and was expected to dissipate late in the day. The storm-turned-depression, which roared ashore as a powerful category three hurricane, hit as Mexico reeled under one of its wettest seasons on record, forcing oil rigs to be evacuated and a nuclear plant to be shut down. "There is absolutely no risk" at Mexico's only nuclear generator in Laguna Verde since all security measures were taken, said Laura Gurza, national civil protection director.
Karl hit on Friday afternoon, just north of the port of Veracruz, striking land just four miles (seven kilometers) from the nuclear power station. As officials opened hostels with room for thousands of people, many hunkered down in their homes, sticking adhesive tape on windows and blocking doors with furniture. A 61-year-old woman and a two-year-old girl were killed in Puebla state after the roof of their house collapsed on them, authorities said. Filemon Calderon said his wooden house collapsed in Las Higueras village overnight, after he had tried to reinforce it with old mattresses. "It fell on us. The beds and our furniture were soaked," the 59-year-old said. Still reeling from major flooding earlier this month that left 25 people dead and affected nearly one million more, Mexican officials posted storm warnings for the Gulf coast and central states. "It's the first time in at least 30 years that we're experiencing such a powerful phenomenon," the head of Veracruz state weather services, Federico Acevedo, told journalists. Roads were closed in the north of Veracruz and the international airport suspended flights. Mexican state oil giant Pemex Thursday evacuated Gulf oil platforms and stopped production in 14 wells.
After reaching Mexico's mountains, Karl weakened substantially and was downgraded by the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center to a tropical depression. "Karl is forecast to dissipate during the next six to 12 hours," the service said. The storm hit during an especially active hurricane season in the region. In the Atlantic, the very large category two Hurricane Igor weakened slightly, still packing winds of 105 miles (165 kilometer) per hour as it churned toward Bermuda. Igor is so big that hurricane force winds extend some 105 miles (165 kilometers). Tropical storm force winds were also radiating up to 345 miles (555 kilometers) from its center, the NHC said. Concern lay primarily with Bermuda, where authorities of the British overseas territory, home to some 67,000 people, were warning of potential devastation if the eye of the storm passed close by as forecast.
A meteorologist for the Bermuda Weather Service said the island should prepare for a direct hit, with 37 hours of gale force winds starting Sunday, according to Bermuda's Royal Gazette. Huge swells from Igor could also cause dangerous surf from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands up the US east coast, the NHC said. Lined up behind Igor was Julia, which has weakened to a tropical storm out in the Atlantic with no current threats to land. The last time so many major storms churned in the Atlantic basin at the same time was in September 1998, when there were four hurricanes, including Georges, which killed more than 600 people and caused nearly six billion dollars in damage.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted an especially stormy 2010, with 14 to 23 named storms for this season, including eight to 14 hurricanes. On average, there are 11 named storms, six of which become hurricanes, in the six-month season which ends on November 30. Hurricane Earl battered Canada's Nova Scotia province earlier this month when it made landfall as a category one storm. But it swiftly lost power, weakening down to a tropical storm.
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