Rescue workers were scrambling to clean up the mess left by Hurricane Lidia, which slammed into Mexico's Pacific coast overnight, leaving one person dead in the western state of Nayarit.
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Lidia, which has weakened to a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110km/h, is expected to continue producing heavy rainfall and gusty winds as it moves inland over west-central Mexico, the National Hurricane Centre said.
Lidia made landfall as a Category 4 storm triggering torrential downpours, causing rivers to overflow, toppling trees and leading to significant flooding in numerous western states of Mexico.
Lidia blew maximum sustained winds of 165km/h as it passed near the inland town of Mascota in Jalisco state, the NHC said.
Officials in Nayarit were working to clear fallen trees obstructing Federal Highway 200 in the Bahia de Banderas municipality. The authorities reported that 136 individuals sought overnight shelter in temporary accommodations set up within the municipality.
Civil Defence authorities in the beach resort city of Puerto Vallarta catalogued the damage on social media, reporting inundated canals and instances of rooftops being swept away by the storm.
Lidia is expected to dump up to 20cm of rain through Wednesday, though some areas could see up to 30cm, the NHC said.
Further south, Tropical Storm Max, which hit Mexico on Monday, killed two people and injured at least two in the state of Guerrero, according to media reports.
Lidia comes eight years after Patricia, a category five hurricane - the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale - struck close to Puerto Vallarta with winds that tore down trees, moved cars and forced thousands of people to flee from their homes.
Australian Associated Press
