Mexican officials have worked overnight to clear highways blocked by mudslides along Mexico's southern coast after record-breaking storm Agatha battered the region with torrential rains and strong winds.
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Agatha made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Monday afternoon, touching down with 170km/h winds near the beach town of Puerto Angel on the Pacific coast before losing strength as it moved inland.
By early Tuesday, Agatha had weakened to a tropical depression and is expected to dissipate by the afternoon, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), which warned of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in Oaxaca state.
Rain caused mud and rocks to slide into two highways in Oaxaca, blocking access to at least one area of the state, local authorities said. Mexico's transportation ministry was working to clear the roads into the night on Monday.
Some towns in Oaxaca lost power, and one transformer exploded, officials said. Telephone lines were knocked out on Monday, forcing authorities to communicate by radio.
Agatha, the strongest hurricane on record to reach land on Mexico's Pacific coast during the month of May, is expected to drop a total of 25 to 40 centimetres of rain on Oaxaca, with heavy downpours in nearby states of Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco and eastern Guerrero, the NHC said.
Australian Associated Press
