Mexico hurricanes kill 20 people - Illawarra Mercury

Acapulco: Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel have triggered rain, landslides and floods on Mexico's east and west coasts, killing at least 20 people and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Manuel made landfall on the Pacific side while Ingrid, a category one hurricane, was expected to reach the coast on the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, but they have already swollen rivers, flooded streets and damaged bridges.

State-run energy firm Pemex evacuated three oil platforms off the Gulf coast of the north-eastern state of Tamaulipas and shut down 24 wells, the company said on its Twitter account.

On the Pacific coast, Manuel is weakening after making landfall near the Colima state town of Manzanillo, packing top winds of almost 85km/h as it moved north-west, the US hurricane centre said.

The storms were blamed for at least 14 deaths in the southwestern state of Guerrero and six in the central states of Puebla and Hidalgo, officials said.

In Guerrero, more than 2000 people left their homes while 21,000 households were without power, state civil protection official Constantino Gonzales Vargas told AFP.

Of the 14 fatalities, six people were killed on Saturday when their van's driver lost control due to a lack of visibility and a slippery road on their way to the resort city of Acapulco, he said.

Six others died in landslides and the collapse of walls in three Guerrero towns. Two more people drowned when they were swept away by a swollen river in the state capital Chilpancingo.

Water rose as high as a metre in parts of Acapulco, dragging cars away, while the road leading to the international airport's terminal was closed.

The city's port was shut to navigation and a warning was issued against recreational use of beaches. Two men who sailed away were reported missing.

As Hurricane Ingrid crept toward the east coast, three people, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed in a landslide in Tlatlauquitepec, a mountain town in the central state of Puebla.

In the central state of Hidalgo, a nurse and her driver drowned when their car was swept away by a overflowing river as they headed to a mountain area heavily affected by days of rain, civil protection officials said.

Another woman died when a landslide struck her home.

AFP