Alberto falls apart after causing four deaths in Mexico

Tropical Storm Alberto, the Atlantic hurricane season’s first named storm, is estimated to have caused less than $10 million in damage after dumping heavy rain on parts of Mexico and southern Texas and leaving at least four dead.  

By Thursday afternoon, Alberto’s remnants were scattered over central Mexico, according to the US National Hurricane Centre. Aon in its weekly catastrophe update, said the storm had caused milions of dollars in damage 

But forecasters said heavy rain amounting to several inches was falling inland in Mexico’s Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila states. South Texas was forecast to see diminishing rain on Thursday, The Associated Press said. 

Inland heavy rain was causing damage in the neighboring states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz.

There, civil protection authorities reported four deaths linked to Alberto’s rains. They said one man died in the La Silla river in the city of Monterrey, the state capital, and that two minors died from electric shocks in the municipality of Allende. Local media reported that the minors were riding a bicycle in the rain.

A fourth man in the community of El Carmen, Nuevo Leon, was electrocuted when he tried to repair wires in the rain, civil protection said.

Water also washed out a segment of a major highway connecting Monterrey and Saltillo.

The US National Weather Service said the main hazard for southern coastal Texas is flooding from excess rain. Areas along the Texas coast saw some road flooding and dangerous rip currents Wednesday, and waterspouts were spotted offshore.

The mayor of Corpus Christi, Texas, planned to request a disaster declaration after parts of the city were drenched with up to 6 inches of rain on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. Residents reported water and wind damage, and canals were damaged on the north side of Padre Island, Brianna Sandoval said Thursday.

Two people were rescued from vehicles that stalled over flooded roads, and a downed powerline rerouted highway traffic for part of the morning. The city remained under a flood warning.

Bert Dagnon, who closed his Salt Water Gift Shop in Galveston on Wednesday out of an abundance of caution, said it didn’t rain as much as predicted and there was little impact in the area aside from flooding in low-lying areas.

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