MIAMI (AFP) – Rick, a powerful weather system threatening Mexico's west coast, has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, the US National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.
Rick has already caused one death and forced the evacuation of some of Los Cabos' tourist beaches.
But the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said early Tuesday morning that Mexico's government had discontinued a hurricane watch and Rick had been downgraded to a tropical storm.
On Monday, Mexican authorities said Mexican Miguel Barraza, 38, had been swept out to sea by huge waves caused by Rick.
He "was devoured by fierce waves and we couldn't do anything to save his life," said the head of local rescue services, Francisco Cota Marquez, adding that the death occurred on Sunday.
At 0300 GMT on Tuesday, Rick was 290 miles (465 kilometers) south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas and moving north near eight miles (13 kilometers) per hour, the NHC said.
The center of the storm, which was still packing maximum sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour, was forecast to pass near the southern tip of Baja California late Tuesday or early Wednesday, the NHC added.
Rick was the seventh hurricane of the eastern north Pacific 2009 season.
Baja California also was battered in early September by Hurricane Jimena, which caused floods that killed at least one person.
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