Alex hits Mexico's Gulf coast

Alex hits Mexico's Gulf coast as Cat 2 hurricane

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN

SAN FERNANDO, Mexico — Hurricane Alex made landfall on Mexico's Gulf coast as a powerful Category 2 storm Wednesday, spawning tornadoes in nearby Texas, forcing evacuations in both countries and whipping up high waves that frustrated oil-spill cleanup efforts and pushed crude onto beaches.

Alex hit a relatively unpopulated stretch of coast in Mexico's northern Tamaulipas state about 110 miles (180 kms) south of Brownsville, Texas, and was pushing inland at 10 mph (17 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Its heavy rains and 110 mph (160 kph) winds lashed Mexican fishing villages, whose residents fled inland to the town of San Fernando on buses and in the back of pickup trucks.

Hundreds of people filled a storm shelter in an auditorium in San Fernando


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