Jimena wreaks havoc on Mexico

MEXICO: Tropical Storm Jimena battered Mexico's Baja California peninsula Thursday with torrential rain and powerful winds, cutting off villages, destroying homes and leaving one person missing.

Downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall as a hurricane, Jimena had top winds of 100 kilometers (65 miles) per hour as it moved north, US forecasters said.

Jimena was forecast to weaken further on Thursday, though the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that the storm's rains "could produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides."

Baja California Sur civil protection chief Jose Gajon told AFP a fisherman had been missing since late Tuesday from San Buto, possibly becoming Jimena's first victim.

"We are still unsure whether he was carried away by a torrent or if he was in the ocean," Gajon said.

In a sign of a gradual return to normal life, shops began to reopen in Los Cabos resort, while some residents and tourists were seen strolling through the streets.

Two of the three international airports in Baja California Sur also reopened, state officials said.

In Puerto San Carlos, residents had ignored evacuation orders to try and hold onto their scant possessions, but rushed to local schools serving as makeshift shelters as the eye of the storm passed above them.

AFP