Hurricane Lorena downgraded to tropical storm in Mexico

Mexico City, Sep 22 (IANS) Hurricane Lorena has been downgraded to a tropical storm after causing power outages and damages to property along the east coast of the Baja California peninsula on its way to northwestern Mexico.

Mexico's National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported on Saturday that the storm was located over the Gulf of California, 85 km north-northeast of Loreto, Baja California Sur, and 145 km south of Guaymas, a city in the state of Sonora, reports Efe news.

It was moving northward at 19 km per hour with 85 kph sustained winds and gusts of 100 kph. A hurricane is marked a tropical storm when its sustained winds fall to a speed of 120 kph or lower.

The weather office predicted heavy, strong and very strong rains in the states of Sonora, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua and Durango.

According to the weather forecast, Lorena will land again in Sonora in the early hours of Sunday, and by noon it would have slowed down to a tropical depression.

As it moved along the eastern coast of Baja California Sur, Lorena caused damage in Los Planes, El Sargento, La Ventana and Los Barriles.

Dozens of trees and electric poles were uprooted, which disrupted power supply in major areas of the affected states.

Several houses in rural areas were also reported damaged.

Lorena made landfall on Friday in the south of the Baja California peninsula. Hours later, the storm returned to the Gulf of California and moved close to the coast towards north-northwest.

It advanced as a tropical storm for two days along the coasts of western Mexico and made landfall on Thursday as a category 1 hurricane in Jalisco, causing heavy rains and flooding.

On Thursday, it downgraded to a tropical storm and regained hurricane strength on Friday.