PUEBLA, Mexico, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Three people were killed in central Mexico Friday by a landslide blamed on the pounding rains of Hurricane Lorenzo, which later weakened into a tropical storm.

'Unfortunately it buried a woman and two children,' said Puebla state Governor Mario Marin.

Hurricane Lorenzo barreled ashore from the Gulf of Mexico earlier Friday, packing maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, but rapidly lost its punch.

MIAMI, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Tropical Storm Lorenzo strengthened into a hurricane and slammed ashore Friday in one of Mexico's oil producing regions, the US National Hurricane Center said, before Lorenzo lost some of its punch.

Briefly a Category One hurricane -- the lowest on the five-level Simpson-Saffir scale -- Lorenzo then weakened back to tropical storm status over land; at 0500 GMT it was located inland, some 45 kilometers (30 miles) south-southwest of Tuxpan, the Miami-based Hurricane Center reported.

MIAMI, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Tropical Storm Lorenzo strengthened into a hurricane and slammed ashore early Friday along one of Mexico's oil producing regions, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The Category One hurricane -- the lowest on the five-level Simpson-Saffir scale -- was located just inland, and some 65 kilometers (40 miles) east-southeast of Tuxpan at 0600 GMT Friday, the Miami-based Hurricane Center reported.

Scores of offshore oil rigs are located in the area off Tuxpan.

MIAMI, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Tropical Storm Lorenzo strengthened into a hurricane and was expected to make landfall Friday along one of Mexico's oil producing regions, the US National Hurricane Center said late Thursday.

The Category One hurricane -- the lowest on the five-level Simpson-Saffir scale -- was located in the Gulf of Mexico some 110 kilometers (70 miles) east-southeast of Tuxpan at 0300 GMT Friday, the Miami-based Hurricane Center reported.

Scores of offshore oil rigs are located in the area off Tuxpan.

MEXICO CITY, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Mexican authorities took precautionary steps Thursday to prepare for a possible strike from Hurricane Ivo on its Pacific coastline, which was already hit by a hurricane this month.

Ivo was far from the Baja California peninsula, packing winds of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph).

But authorities placed the peninsula's southern state on green alert, meaning authorities should prepare to possibly open hurricane shelters.

MIAMI, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - The Pacific storm Ivo intensified to hurricane strength early Thursday and appeared likely to turn toward Mexico's Baja Peninsula, the US National Hurricane Center said.

At 0900 GMT Hurricane Ivo was located some 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of the peninsula and expected to move toward the north, possibly curving toward the northeast which would take it to Baja's southwest coast on Sunday, according to the center's forecast.

NEW YORK, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - The United Nations on Friday urged the international community to chip in 39.2 million dollars to help Nicaragua recover from Hurricane Felix, which struck earlier this month.

John Holmes, UN under secretary for humanitarian matters and emergency coordination, said he hoped donors would be generous to help those affected by the storm, many of whom live in remote places.

He said because the economic impact is serious, immediate assistance will be crucial to recovery efforts.

MIAMI, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Hurricane Humberto battered Texas and dragged on across Louisiana as a tropical storm Thursday, killing at least one person and leaving a trail of damage and flood warnings, authorities said.

Downgraded from a hurricane which blocked roads and shut down oil refineries in Texas, the storm plowed east into Louisiana, where memories are still fresh of the deadly Hurricane Katrina that devastated the state in 2005.

MIAMI, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Humberto lost its punch and was downgraded to a tropical depression while moving over Louisiana Thursday, after barreling over southeastern Texas as a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

The weakened storm could still spawn tornadoes in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, the Miami-based forecasters said.

Humberto had unexpectedly strengthened from a tropical storm into a category one hurricane just before it slammed into Texas early Thursday, before gradually losing strength as it drenched parts of the Gulf coast.

WASHINGTON, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - A tropical storm dragged across Louisiana Thursday, leaving a trail of damage and warnings of floods after Hurricane Humberto battered Texas, authorities said, as one man was reported killed.

The storm moved east into in Louisiana, passing the city of Lake Charles where strong winds 'took the roof off a trailer, knocked down some trees, some power lines,' John Butterick of the local county emergency preparedeness department told AFP.

MIAMI, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Humberto weakened into a tropical storm on Thursday, after barreling over southeastern Texas and Louisiana as a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

The weakened storm still packed 'damaging winds' near its center, could cause some coastal flooding in Louisiana and might spawn tornadoes, the Miami-based NHC said.

At 1500 GMT, Tropical Storm Humberto packed maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers (75 miles) per hour, with higher gusts. It was located 125 kilometers (125 miles) west-northwest of Lafayette, Louisiana.

WASHINGTON, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Hurricane Humberto blasted across southeastern Texas and into Louisiana Thursday, packing strong winds and triggering fears of flooding, US forecasters said.

Humberto emerged as a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday and suddenly mushroomed into a hurricane just before slamming ashore on the Texas coast early Thursday, packing winds as strong as 135 kilometers (85 miles) per hour.

WASHINGTON, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Hurricane Humberto blasted across southeast Texas Thursday as it headed toward Louisiana, packing strong winds and triggering fears of flooding, US forecasters said.

Humberto emerged as a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday and suddenly mushroomed into a hurricane moments before slamming ashore on the Texas coast early Thursday, packing winds as strong as 135 kilometers (85 miles) per hour.

WASHINGTON, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Hurricane Humberto slammed into the coast of Texas Thursday packing winds of up to 135 kilometers (85 miles) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said.

'The center of Hurricane Humberto crossed the Texas coast just east of High Island with maximum winds of 85 mph,' the center said in a bulletin at 0710 GMT).

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WASHINGTON, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Tropical Storm Humberto grew into a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico Thursday just before its expected landfall in the US state of Texas, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane hunter aircraft and doppler radar determined that Humberto was packing winds as strong as 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour as it swirled toward southeastern Texas, the center said in its latest bulletin.

TRIESTE, Italy, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - Seeding a hurricane with microscopic dust could sharply reduce its force, according to a study which calculated that the technique might have spared New Orleans from the devastating power of Katrina in 2005.

The findings were presented this week at the European Conference on Severe Storms in the Italian port city of Trieste.

BILWI, Nicaragua, Sept 8, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands of residents of Nicaragua and Honduras sought aid Saturday in the wake of Hurricane Felix, while rescuers expressed fears that the death toll of at least 100 would surely rise.

Mixed reports of the full extent of the damage wrought by Felix, which whipped the two Central American countries mid-week, filtered out as authorities attempted to reach isolated communities that had been in its path.

BILWI, Nicaragua, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Crews from US helicopters reported bodies floating in the Caribbean as authorities on Friday scoured the coastline of Nicaragua and Honduras for more victims of Hurricane Felix, which has killed at least 100 people.

The account from crews of two US choppers assisting in the rescue effort confirmed fears the death toll would likely rise in the wake of the powerful storm that battered Central America this week.

OTTAWA, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Canada announced Friday that it was sending one million Canadian dollars (950,000 USD) in emergency humanitarian aid to Nicaragua and Honduras to help those hit by Hurrican Felix, which killed more than 100 people.

Included in the aid are 10,000 blankets headed to Nicaragua on a Canadian Air Force Airbus C150, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

'Canadian officials will be arriving today in Managua, Nicaragua, to assist in the implementation of Canada's aid operation,' said Beverley Oda, minister of international cooperation.

BILWI, Nicaragua, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico geared up for flooding from rain-swollen rivers Thursday in the wake of two devastating hurricanes that left at least 109 dead and scores more missing.

Nicaragua and Honduras in a joint death toll Thursday, said that Hurricane Felix killed 100 people in their two countries.

MANAGUA, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from Hurricane Felix neared 100, according to updated figures released by authorities in Nicaragua and Honduras on Thursday after the storm battered the two countries this week.

The previous toll of 71 was raised after the discovery of 28 additional bodies of native Miskitos in the sea off the Caribbean coast.

WASHINGTON, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - The US military has sent a team to Nicaragua to assess conditions in the wake of deadly Hurricane Felix and plan for humanitarian assistance, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The USS Wasp, a helicopter carrier, is on standby in waters near Nicaragua in case it is needed, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

A high speed vessel has also been dispatched to the US Navy base at Guantanamo, Cuba to pick up emergency relief supplies -- food, blankets, sheeting and hygiene kits -- that could be used, he said.

TEGUCIGALPA, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - The bodies of 24 native Miskito Nicaraguans, whose fishing boat had capsized, were found near the Caribbean coast of Honduras in the wake of devastating Hurricane Felix, an official told reporters Thursday.

'This morning I was told that a boat was recovered with 24 bodies, 21 men and three women,' government representative for the Gracias a Dios region, Carolina Echeverria said.

BILWI, Nicaragua, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - Nicaragua and Mexico launched major relief operations Thursday after two hurricanes that killed at least 40 people with the toll expected to rise.

While Nicaragua surveyed the destruction left by Hurricane Felix that struck the Central American country Tuesday, Mexico's Pacific coast was hit Wednesday by Hurricane Henriette, which left two people dead.

BILWI, Nicaragua, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Rare double hurricanes lashed Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico Wednesday, killing at least 40 people as a waning Felix left a trail of destruction and Henriette gathered force.

Nicaraguan authorities said Felix's toll of 38 dead was likely to rise after it displaced 50,000 people and sent search-and-rescue teams fanning out along the northeast of the country, where the storm hit hardest.

BILWI, Nicaragua, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - Rare double hurricanes lashed Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico Wednesday, killing at least 38 people as a waning Felix left a trail of destruction and Henriette gathered force.

Nicaraguan authorities said Felix's toll was likely to rise after it displaced 50,000 people and sent search-and-rescue teams fanning out along the northeast of the country, where the storm hit hardest.

BILWI, Nicaragua, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from Hurricane Felix mounted to 21 and could rise further as search-and-rescue teams spread out Wednesday along northeastern Nicaragua, where the furious storm left a trail of destruction.

One day after it slammed ashore from the Caribbean, smashing thousands of homes, Felix lost all its punch, but the rain it dumped raised fears of floods and mudslides in neighboring Honduras.

BILWI, NICARAGUA, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from Hurricane Felix mounted to 21 and could continue to rise as search-and-rescue teams spread out Wednesday along northeastern Nicaragua, where the furious storm left a trail of destruction.

One day after it slammed ashore from the Caribbean, smashing thousands of homes, Felix lost all its punch, but the rain it dumped over neighboring Honduras raised fears of floods and mudslides.

MANAGUA, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Powerful Hurricane Felix killed at least 21 people in Nicaragua after striking the country's northern Caribbean coast, the regional governor said on Wednesday.

'We have 21 dead and it is possible that will increase. We must speed up (search) efforts,' said Reynaldo Francis, governor of the North Atlantic Autonomous Region, which was hit hard by the storm that struck Tuesday.

TEGUCIGALPA, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - The remnants of Hurricane Felix drenched Honduras threatening to cause dangerous floods and mudslides on Wednesday, one day after the then-mighty storm killed at least nine people, left dozens missing, and smashed thousands of homes in Nicaragua.

'We're braced for the worst,' said Gordana Jerger, deputy regional director of the World Food Program (WFP), adding that the UN agency rushed reinforcements and supplies to threatened areas.

MANAGUA, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Hurricane Felix left at least nine people dead and a further 96 reported missing in Nicaragua after it slammed ashore on the country's northern Caribbean coast, authorities said on Wednesday.

In addition, 14 people were severely injured, according to a report by the local Civil Defense agency.

Authorities feared the toll could increase as search and rescue team reach isolated communities along the Caribbean coastline.

LA PAZ, Mexico, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands of residents Mexico's Baja California were without power and a tourist resort was cut off by floods on Wednesday after Hurricane Henriette roared over the southern tip of the peninsula.

In La Paz, 21,000 residents were left without power, and 170,000 had no running water, according to officials. Floods were reported in parts of the city.

The only two roads to the tourist resort of Los Cabos, on the peninsula's southern tip, were cut off by floods and mudslides, officials said.

TEGUCIGALPA, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Felix, once a mighty hurricane, weakened into a tropical depression Wednesday but still threatened to trigger floods and mudslides in Nicaragua and Honduras, having already killed four people.

Felix slammed ashore in Nicaragua on Tuesday as a huge category-five hurricane but gradually lost steam as it moved across the country into neighboring Honduras.

But the storm continued to worry Central Americans haunted by memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed 9,000 people in 1998.

MIAMI, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - The former hurricane Felix weakened into a tropical depression Wednesday but was expected to dump heavy rains that could trigger floods and mudslides in Nicaragua and Honduras, US forecasters said.

Felix was weakening rapidly over the mountains of Central America and was very near the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa at 0900 GMT, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin.

TEGUCIGALPA, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Tropical Storm Felix threatened to trigger floods and mudslides in Honduras on Wednesday after the once monstrous hurricane killed four people in Nicaragua.

Felix weakened as it moved into Honduras after making landfall early Tuesday in northeastern Nicaragua as a massive, topmost categoy five hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale.

But Honduras remained on red alert as the storm drenched the neighboring Central American countries, still haunted by memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed 9,000 people in 1998.

MANAGUA, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - A furious Hurricane Felix on Tuesday left a trail of devastation in an already dirt-poor area of Nicaragua, killing at least four people, including a new-born baby, and destroying 5,000 homes.

By 2359 GMT, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami downgraded Felix to a tropical storm, with winds of 95 kilometers (60 miles) per hour but that is little comfort to residents in poor, low-lying areas, who can expect life-threatening flash floods and mud slides before the storm rains out sometime Wednesday.

MEXICO CITY, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - The leading edge of Hurricane Henriette, packing winds of 120 miles (193 kilometers) an hour, began lashing Mexico's Baja California Sur peninsula at 1636 GMT, the National Weather Service said Tuesday.

Henriette's wrath was being felt after Hurricane Felix slammed ashore earlier Tuesday in Nicaragua at the topmost intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Heavy rains were expected to lash the coast dotted with resorts from Santa Rosalia to La Paz, the service said. More than 2,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the storm's arrival.

MIAMI, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - For the first time on record, two Atlantic hurricanes have made landfall at category five in the same year as Hurricane Felix slammed ashore Tuesday at the topmost intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to data from the US National Hurricane Center.

The powerful storm roared ashore in northeastern Nicaragua with maximum sustained winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour, and higher gusts, before weakening to a category three hurricane, said the Miami-based NHC.

MEXICO CITY, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - The leading edge of Hurricane Henriette, packing winds of 120 miles (193 kilometers) an hour, began lashing Mexico's Baja California Sur peninsula at 1636 GMT, the National Weather Service said Tuesday.

Henriette's wrath was being felt after Hurricane Felix slammed ashore earlier Tuesday at the topmost intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Felix roared into northeastern Nicaragua with maximum sustained winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour, and higher gusts, according to the Miami-based National H