A weakened Hurricane Emily triggered flooding outside Mexico's third-largest city last night after demolishing homes, toppling trees and sparking thousands of evacuations on the northern Gulf Coast.
Emily had weakened to a tropical storm but was still moving inland with torrential downpours and high winds that washed out roads and caused flooding in and around Monterrey, whose metro area is home to three million.
Authorities cancelled dozens of flights at the international airport and set up shelters to accommodate evacuees and those whose homes were damaged.
The hurricane had 125 mph winds in the pre-dawn hours, when its eye came ashore near San Fernando, 75 miles south of the US-Mexico border.
There were no reports of deaths or major injuries here or elsewhere, but the wind peeled metal roofs off houses and flooded fields.
Emily was losing strength as it moved west across northern Mexico late last night. But authorities in Nuevo Leon state, which includes Monterrey, declared a red alert, anticipating more Emily-related flooding.