Red Alert. Waiting for hurricane Norbert in Baja California Sur

El paso de “Norbert”, primero como huracán por Baja California Sur y luego convertido en tormenta tropical por Sonora, dejó cuatro muertos y un desaparecido en ambos estados, así como cientos de casas destruidas, puentes derrumbados y carreteras dañadas por el desbordamiento de arroyos que causaron numerosas inundaciones, según recuentos preliminares.
Este martes, las zonas más devastadas de esos estados serán visitadas por el Presidente Felipe Calderón.

Authorities say at least four people were killed by Hurricane Norbert when it ripped through northern Mexico over the weekend. Sonora state social development secretary Hector Clark said Monday that the bodies of two men and two women were found Sunday after they were swept away by a rain-swelled river in the town of Alamos.

Streets became rushing, knee-deep rivers in Ciudad Constitucion, a town less than 50 miles (80 kilometers) inland in the southern peninsula. Furniture, car parts and trash cans floated down the roads, which were deserted except for a few patrolling police trucks and a soaked dog wandering down an elevated sidewalk.

The storm was passing well north of the resort-dotted Los Cabos on the southern tip of the peninsula, but its course was taking it near Loreto, a small town popular with tourists on the peninsula's east coast, which was under a hurricane warrning from Loreto south to La Paz.

Some 2,850 people were housed in temporary shelters.

Forty percent of homes were totally or partially damaged on the islands of Margarita and Magdalena, mainly having lost their roofs, said a report from state protection services.

La Paz international airport suspended its activities at midday Saturday, but the tourist resort of Los Cabos remained open.

Hotel reservations were down by around 40 percent mainly in Los Cabos and Loreto, local tourism officials said.

El Huracán "Norbert" categoría 2 en las escala de huracanes Saffir-Simpson, se encuentra impactándose en el suroeste de la Península de Baja California, muy cerca de Bahía Las Almejas, BCS.

LA PAZ, Mexico (Reuters) - Hurricane Norbert regained power as a Category 2 storm in the Pacific on Friday, churning towards Mexico's Baja California peninsula and forcing hundreds of people to flee to shelters.

Norbert was packing maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour) and was due to make landfall near the city of La Paz on Saturday, missing a direct hit on the beach resort of Los Cabos, a popular destination for U.S. tourists, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Centre.

Rescue authorities began evacuating people from low-lying areas on the western side of the peninsula, which is not home to oil installations, as the first rains lashed the coast.

"This is now upon us, we expect the worst on Saturday morning," said Jose Gajon, head of the Baja California Sur civil protection agency.

Norbert, which again became a Category 2 hurricane after weakening yesterday, may produce a storm surge of as high as 1.5 meters (5 feet) when it makes landfall, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on its Web site. The system was 395 kilometers southwest of Baja California shortly before 5 p.m. Miami time, and moving north at about 17 kph.

``Storm-surge flooding, along with large and dangerous battering waves, is expected along the west coast of the southern Baja peninsula near and to the southeast of where Norbert makes landfall,'' the advisory said.

Mexico declared a state of emergency for the municipalities of Loreto, Comondu and La Paz, and issued a hurricane warning for the western coast of the peninsula from Puerto San Andresito to Agua Blanca, meaning winds of at least 119 kph are expected within a day. A hurricane watch was in place from the warning zone south to the resorts around Cabo San Lucas and north to Loreto on the other side of Baja.

Cabo Port Closed

The port of Cabo San Lucas has been closed, according to a weather bulletin on Mexico's merchant marine Web site.

Norbert may drop up to 25 centimeters (8 inches) of rain as it passes over Baja California, the forecast said.

``Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,'' the advisory said.