Tropical Storm Hermine threatens northern Mexico

19:52, 7 September 2010

MEXICO CITY. September 7. KAZINFORM Tropical Storm Hermine, now in the Gulf of Mexico, might make landfall on northeast Mexico state Tamaulipas, and cause heavy rains and a surge of water in major rivers there, the National Meteorology Service (SMN) said Monday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

"We forecast Hermine will turn northeast and increase speed so that it will affect northeastern Mexico and southern Texas in the early hours of Tuesday," the SMN said.

Hermine, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, has sustained winds of 75 kilometers an hour (kph), with gusts reaching 90 kph. The tropical storm force winds extended out up to 165 kilometers from the storm's center.

The SMN forecasts heavy rains in the center, east, north and northeast of the nation, and moderate rains in Caribbean coast states. East coast state such as Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Yucatan will also experience strong winds.

More than 250,000 people have suffered heavy rain and floods in Mexican states Oaxaca, Veracruz and Tabasco, the Interior Ministry's civil protection coordinator Laura Gurza said, adding that the Mexico-U.S. border areas are now at risk of a third round of heavy rains caused by Hermine; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

See www.xinhuanet.com/english2010 for full version

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