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3,000 evacuated as hurricane smashes Mexico

Posted October 12, 2008 15:37:00

Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters on Mexico's pacific coast after a powerful hurricane made landfall.

Hurricane Norbert has brought heavy rain and winds of more than 160 kilometres an hour to the region of Baja, California.

Local director of civil protection Miguel Arevalos says the storm poses a serious risk to the area.

"In some of the neighbourhoods the water level is 50 centimetres high," he said.

"We're having problems because of the previous two storms, Julio and Lowell, which left the ground water logged and now we have very poor drainage."

Tags: disasters-and-accidents, cyclones, emergency-incidents, emergency-planning, mexico

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