Three dead as Roslyn's intense rains, winds hit Mexico's Pacific coast

MEXICO CITY - At least three people died from destruction caused by intense rainfall unleashed by Storm Roslyn, which provoked flooding along Mexico's Pacific coast when it made landfall as a powerful hurricane on Sunday.

While Roslyn struck Mexico as a Category 3 hurricane early Sunday morning along a relatively unpopulated stretch of Nayarit state coastline, it largely spared popular tourist beaches like Sayulita and Punta Mita before weakening later in the day as it moved north-east.

Local civil protection officials confirmed that two women died as their homes collapsed in the town of Rosamorada in Nayarit. State authorities added that a 74-year-old man died some 25 miles (40 km) away in Santiago Ixcuintla, when a beam fell on his head.

Roslyn brought heavy downpours that flooded streets while its winds flattened trees, flipped over vehicles and tore off parts of buildings leaving debris strewn across the ground.

Laura Velazquez, the head of Mexico's civil protection agency, said the army was helping clean up areas where the storm flooded roads and knocked down trees, and that people in high-risk areas were evacuated to temporary shelters.

"The evacuations had a very important impact, people were very prepared to move," she told a news conference.

National power company CFE said on Monday it had restored power to 71% of around 180,000 users affected across Nayarit, Jalisco and Sinaloa states, along Mexico's hurricane-prone Pacific coast.

The storm also sidestepped the major beach resort of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state, though it still generated strong winds and flooding in the area. -- Reuters