Landslides kill several in Mexico

State Civil Protection Secretary Yolanda Gutierrez Carlin said the dead from the landslides came from two separate families, whose home in the townships of Coscomatepec and Tequila were buried by mud.

A young child was among the dead.

Two other people were injured, and at least 40 families in the area were evacuated as a precaution.

Fifteen waterways - mostly streams and creeks - had overwhelmed their banks, adding to problems on many roads caused by mudslides and downed trees, Carlin said.

Even though the storm has passed on to Puebla state, emergency officials warned that the danger in Veracruz remained because many of the state's rivers flow from that mountainous inland area, which is predicted to experience severe flooding.

Several other states have been placed on high alert, including Guerrero, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, and Tlaxcula.

Heavy rains and fierce wind gusts hit Mexico Thursday after Earl weakened from hurricane status over Central America.

Before crossing into Mexico, Earl battered Belize, smashing car windows and punching holes in the roofs of Belize City's wooden houses. It also downed trees and flooded parts of the coast.

By Saturday afternoon, Earl's maximum wind speed had dropped to 48 kilometers per hour (30 miles per hour), according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

mm/rc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)