Hurricane Norbert weakens to Category 1, nears Mexico mainland

Published Saturday October 11th, 2008

Kirsten Johnson, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico - Hurricane Norbert has weakened to a Category 1 storm after it swept across Mexico's southern Baja California peninsula, tearing off roofs and forcing hundreds of people to flee flooded homes.

Enlarge Photo

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/NOAA

This image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Norbert taken at 3:30 a.m. EDT Saturday Oct. 11, 2008.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Norbert has top sustained winds of 150 kilometres per hour and is expected to reach mainland Mexico before daybreak Sunday.

Norbert hit land near Puerto Charley on Baja's southwest coast Saturday, crossed the peninsula and emerged over the Gulf of California.

Baja residents have fled to shelters in school buses and army trucks as floodwaters rise in their homes. Winds are uprooting palm trees and the water is knee-high in some streets of the town of Puerto San Carlos.

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