Dean loses steam; reclassified as tropical storm

Hurricane Dean has been downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting Mexico for the second time this week.

Dean was a Category Two hurricane with gusts of up to 100mph before it weakened after landing at the eastern state of Veracruz. Wind speeds dropped to 70mph as it lurched inland but concerns remained about potential flash floods. Up to 51cm of rain were expected to swell rivers around villages in mountainous regions prone to mudslides. The Veracruz authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 people from low-lying coastal areas.

On Tuesday, Dean battered Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, toppling trees and houses and causing flooding. It also damaged houses and flooded streets in neighbouring Belize.

The hurricane initially hit Yucatan as a maximum Category Five storm but quickly weakened. It regained strength over the Gulf of Mexico, where it slammed into oil and gas platforms, but did not cause any significant damage to refineries.

There have been no reports of deaths in Mexico, but the hurricane claimed at least 13 lives in the eastern Caribbean. With hurricane Dean losing its strength all tropical storm and hurricane warnings have been canceled.

Meanwhile the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour made a safe return to its Florida home port on Tuesday, touching down at the Kennedy Space Center following a hectic but successful 13-day mission to the International Space Station.

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