Hurricane Lane hits Mexican coast

Hurricane Lane slammed into Mexico's Pacific coast yesterday, with winds of up to 125mph and torrential rain as the storm strengthened to a dangerous Category Three.

Lane hit the coast between the city of Culiacan and the resort of Mazatlan, with warnings of flash floods and mudslides from the US National Hurricane Centre.

The storm had been expected to move up through the Sea of Cortez and make landfall further north today, but it swung suddenly to the east and took aim at the coastline.

Jose Lopez, 48, the manager of a Culiacan shoe store, said: "It's not normal for a hurricane to hit here. But we've been preparing for it since we heard it was coming." Earlier, Lane had knocked out power to parts of Mazatlan, a resort and retirement community popular among Americans.

On Friday, heavy rains from Lane caused a rockslide in the coastal resort of Acapulco, crushing a house and killing a seven-year-old boy. The flooding forced hundreds of people to abandon their homes.

It is the second storm to affect the region recently. Two weeks ago, Hurricane John hit Cabo San Lucas, killing five people and damaging roads.