Hurricane Emily slammed into northeastern Mexico with 125 mph winds today, knocking out power, pelting beaches with heavy rain and forcing thousands along the Gulf of Mexico to seek safer ground.
The eye of the Category 3 storm came ashore before dawn near San Fernando, about 75 miles south of the US-Mexico border.
Forecasters predicted the storm could dump up to 15 inches of rain as it moves inland, causing flash floods and landslides.
Texas was not in the direct path of the storm, but Emily's outer bands began lashing the state's southern tip yesterday and meteorologists said two to four inches of rain could fall over the lower Rio Grande Valley. The National Hurricane Center said isolated tornadoes also were possible in the south.
On Tuesday, army trucks roamed the streets of small Mexican fishing villages, collecting evacuees laden with suitcases and rolled-up blankets.
Officials in Tamaulipas state, which borders Texas, said 18,000 people had been evacuated from 20 low-lying, seaside communities, including nearly everyone from Carbonera, a fishing hamlet.
In southern Texas, campers emptied beachfront parks on South Padre Island and hundreds of other tourists left. Residents piled up sandbags to hold back possible floodwaters and boarded up windows of businesses and homes, while officials converted schools into shelters.
AP