Category One storm Katia makes landfall in eastern Mexico

It was moving west-southwest at 11 kilometers per hour, and was projected to pour 10 to 15 inches of rain over northern Veracruz, eastern Hidalgo and Puebla.

Tecolutla (Mexico), Sep 9: Hurricane Katia made landfall in eastern Mexico just as the country grappled with its worst earthquake in a century.

The storm had weakened to a Category One storm -- the lowest on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale -- by the time it reached the state of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico.

At 0300 GMT, the storm was located 185 kilometers northwest of Veracruz with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

It was moving west-southwest at 11 kilometers per hour, and was projected to pour 10 to 15 inches of rain over northern Veracruz, eastern Hidalgo and Puebla.

After hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc and as Irma is on the rampage, the US President Donald Trump has signed a USD 15 billion hurricane relief package passed by Congress.

The National Hurricane Center offered blunt warnings about the "extremely dangerous" storm. The centre warned that Irma is likely to make landfall in Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center.

PTI