1,700 Mexican Homes Damaged in Hurricane’s Wake
Hurricane Fausto damaged 1,700 homes as it swept northeastward across the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California before being downgraded Saturday to a tropical storm, officials said.
Fausto’s ranking was lowered when its winds weakened from 80 mph to 45 mph after it came ashore before dawn on the mainland near Topolobampo, a port hit hard last year by Hurricane Ismael.
About 90 fishermen died when they were surprised at sea last September by Ismael. Fausto left one fatality, an American living near Cabo San Lucas. Baja Gov. Guillermo Mercado Romero said Erick Hite, 26, was electrocuted Friday after touching a downed wire.
“There were some 1,700 houses damaged. Some of these houses are very weak. They just blew away,” said Guillermo Salgado, interior minister in South Baja California.
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