CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Flood advisories were in effect Saturday in southern Texas as the remnants of Hurricane Kenna slid northeast into the United States from Mexico.
Kenna was downgraded to a tropical depression Friday night, however the storm was still expected to drop 3-5 inches of rain in the southern Gulf Coast area around Corpus Christi and in the mountains of northern Mexico.
"These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the National Weather Service warned. "Moisture from Kenna is spreading over portions of the northwestern Gulf Coast states and will aid heavy rainfall in that region."
The ground in southern Texas has been saturated in recent days by continuing rains so even a few additional inches from downgraded Kenna could cause sudden flooding, forecasters said.
More than 50 people spent Friday night in an evacuation shelter in Corpus Christi as damage assessments continued from a tornado that struck the city earlier this week. Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared the city a disaster area Friday and was expected to tour the city on Monday along with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
A city damage assessment team toured the scene Friday and "found more roof damage than originally expected."
Although Kenna did not cause the widespread devastation that was feared along the Mexican Pacific coast, its winds of more than 140 miles per hour still tore off roofs of lightly built homes, toppled trees, power lines and some walls.
Mexican authorities were on guard against looting Saturday and no serious injuries were reported.
The storm also passed south of the tip of the Baja Peninsula where President Bush and other Pacific Rim leaders were holding the APEC economic summit this weekend.
Officials in the coastal area, which is popular with tourists from the United States, predicted the damage to resort cities such as Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta would be quickly cleared away.
"Apart from the alarm and the prevention measures, Mazatlan passed a normal day. None of the tourist infrastructure was damaged," Felipe Guerrero, spokesman for Mazatlan Mayor Gerardo Rosete Ramirez, told the Los Angeles Times.
(Reported by Hil Anderson in Los Angeles)
