Karl kills 2 in Mexico, weakens to tropical storm

No hurry: Under pouring rain, Maria Gonzales (right), 64, stands next to a flooded street due to Hurricane Karl in La Antigua, some 35 km, about 22 miles, of Veracruz, Mexico, Friday. The hurricane reached the country's central coast. – AP/Alexandre Meneghin

Hurricane Karl smashed into Mexicos Gulf Coast on Friday, killing at least two people and forcing the country to shut down its only nuclear power plant and its central Gulf Coast oil platforms.

As the storm pushed inland, a landslide buried a house in the town of Nexticapan, killing a 61-year-old woman and a 2-year-old girl and injuring to other people, said Aru Becerra, a spokeswoman for Civil Protection in Puebla state.

Karl weakened rapidly into a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph (115 kph) as it slogged across central Mexico. It was on track to pass south of Mexico City, where the skies darkened and rain started falling Friday evening.

The storm had sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) when it hit land at midday about 10 miles (15 kilometers) northwest of Veracruz.

It caused widespread damage in the port city, knocking down trees, billboards and power poles, said Veracruz's civil protection chief, Isidro Cano Luna. He said there ha not been a storm like it since Hurricane Janet hit in 1955.

Veracruz state Gov. Fidel Herrera surveyed the heaviest damage in the coastal towns north of the port. Food huts along the beach were destroyed in the fishing town of Chachalaca. In Ursulo Galvan, 10 homes collapsed or lost their roofs.

"The hurricane is following a course that will also impact the mountain areas," Herrera said. "We are releasing more water from the reservoirs, which could be overwhelmed by the rain."

In the city of Veracruz, hundreds of fallen trees and signs made some streets impassable and about 70 homes were flooded.