Dolly dumps rain along US, Mexican border

Jul 24, 2008, 16:40 GMT

Washington/Mexico City - Forecasters warned of widespread flooding along the US-Mexican border on Thursday as the weakened Tropical Storm Dolly continued to dump rain inland.

Dolly, which struck as a category two hurricane near South Padre Island, Texas on Wednesday, has weakened to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 75 kilometres per hour, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said. It was expected to weaken further throughout the day.

The storm now located inland near Laredo, Texas, population 215,000, could produce 20 to 30 centimetres of rain in many inland areas near the Rio Grande river, with some places in south Texas and north-eastern Mexico receiving up to 50 centimetres. The hurricane centre also warned of possible tornadoes.

President George W Bush on Thursday declared a major disaster area for 15 Texas counties, freeing up federal disaster aid for residents and businesses.

Dolly's 160-kilometre-per-hour winds damaged roofs and windows when it came ashore, ripping up trees and tearing traffic signals from their poles. At least one person was injured in the United States and figures from Mexico were not yet available.

In the Mexican state of Tamaulipas 36,000 people were evacuated and 2,800 people fled the storm on the US side of the border.

More than 120,000 people in Tamaulipas and 50,000 people in Texas were without electricity.