Tropical storm 'Earl' claims 3 lives in eastern Mexico

Tropical storm "Earl" left three deaths in its wake as it passed through the state of Veracruz in eastern Mexico, informed the state government on Saturday.

A married couple were killed along with their son after the heavy rains caused a landslide in the center of the region.

The state Ministry of Civil Protection indicated that the incident happened at 5:00 am local time in the town of Temazolapa, located in the mountainous municipality of Coscomatepec, after the landslide fell on top of the family's house.

At the scene a 33-year-old man and his wife, 30, died along with their baby son aged one and a half. Their neighbors were able to rescue another of the couple's children, 8, according to the official report.

"Earl" hit Veracruz on Friday night with winds of 65 kilometers per hour after entering Mexico from the southeast on the afternoon of Aug. 4 after first hitting land in the neighboring country of Belize as a category one hurricane the day before.

"Earl" was downgraded to a tropical storm on Aug. 4 afternoon and is currently making its way towards the central Mexican state of Puebla, Veracruz's neighboring state, according to a report from the National Civil Protection System.

Veracruz's governor, Javier Duarte, said through his official Twitter account that 87 people have been seen in shelters specially set up by authorities to deal with the aftermath of "Earl" and he added that Veracruz was still in a state of alert due to the rising river levels.

During the day, "Earl" is also set to bring heavy storms to Puebla and the states of Oaxaca (south), Queretaro, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosi, these last three are in the center of the Latin American country, according to the National Weather Service (SMN).

In its latest report, the SMN said that "Earl" may also cause very strong storms in Mexico City and the states of Mexico, Morelos and Tlaxcala, all in the center of the country, as well as in the northern state of Tamaulipas.

Source : XINHUA