VERACRUZ, Mexico — Tropical Storm Grace slammed into Mexico for the second time in two days on Saturday, bringing heavy winds and rain to the country. At least eight people died, authorities said.
The storm weakened on Saturday and was moving west at 13 mph and was expected to reach central and west-central Mexico by Saturday night, U.S. forecasters said.
Cuitláhuac García, governor of Mexico’s Veracruz state, said 330,000 people lost power in the storm and three were missing after mudslides and flooding.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he had issued an emergency declaration for 22 municipalities ahead of Grace’s landfall.
“I join the call to ask the people of Veracruz, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Hidalgo to seek refuge in high places with relatives and in shelters that are being set up,” López Obrador said.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Grace had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was centered around 35 miles northwest of Mexico City. Grace caused high waves, strong winds, and rain in the surrounding areas of Veracruz.
An adult was killed by a collapsed roof in Poza Rica, Veracruz Governor Cuitlahuac Garcia said.
“The state of emergency has not ended,” he added.
The storm caused great damage such as smashed windows, downed trees, power cables, and telegraph poles, leaving debris strewn.
This marks the second time the storm has hit Mexico in the span of two days. It first made landfall on Thursday, hammering the Yucatán Peninsula. Grace made its way through Cancun, Cozumel, and Punta Herrero.
Earlier this week, Grace hammered Haiti, which recently suffered a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that killed least at 1,941 people. Over 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, were injured or affected by the earthquake, according to UNICEF.
There is no indication of how much damage Grace has caused with its second hit on Mexico on Thursday.
