12 Oct 2008

Hurricane batters Mexico

6:24 pm on 12 October 2008

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

Hurricane Norbert brought heavy rain and winds of 165km/h to the region of Baja California.

Local authorities say Norbert ripped off roofs, uprooted trees and left one person missing and more than 20,000 homes without electricity.

Earlier, meteorologists downgraded Hurricane Norbert from Category 3 to 2, and later to 1, but said it remained "life-threatening".