Tropical Storm Marco hits Mexico's Gulf coast

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VERACRUZ, Mexico — Tropical Storm Marco roared ashore on Mexico's Gulf coast with near-hurricane force winds on Tuesday, prompting a shutdown of some oil platforms.

The storm flooded coastal highways and brought heavy rains to the city of Veracruz, but the busy port appeared to have escaped most of the storm's wrath.

Veracruz state authorities closed schools and set up some 200 shelters. Soldiers and rescue officials lined up buses and prepared to evacuate communities, some in low-lying areas still trying to recover from heavy flooding caused by rains last week.

Mexico's state oil company said it had evacuated 33 workers from four offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, closed six wells and shut down a natural gas processing plant in Veracruz state ahead of Marco's arrival.

Marco was a tightly wound cyclone with tropical-storm-force winds extending only about 15 miles from the center, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Marco hit land about 55 miles north of Veracruz with winds near hurricane strength, but quickly weakened as it headed inland. Forecasters said it would dissipate as it moves over mountainous terrain, and state officials warned that rainfall of as much as 4 inches in places could unleash dangerous mudslides.

Mexico's Communications and Transportation Department ordered the small ports of Nautla and Alvarado closed to small vessels.

Ranulfo Marquez, the state's top civil protection official, said dozens of shelters would remain open in southern Veracruz, where rain-swollen rivers jumped their banks, leaving the towns of Minatitlan and Hidalgotitlan under 10 feet of water.

"This will be a strong phenomenon (for the state), especially taking into account that we already have 43 rivers that have overflowed," Marquez said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Mexico, Norbert strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane over the Pacific Ocean late Monday and forecasters said it could hit the southern Baja California Peninsula by the weekend before bringing rain to the northern Mexican mainland.

The hurricane center said Norbert was centered 555 miles south-southeast of the tip of the peninsula early Tuesday and it was moving west-northwest at 8 mph. It had winds of 80 mph and was likely to strengthen.