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Newton makes landfall in mainland Mexico

Hurricane Newton weakened to a tropical storm as it made its second landfall in Mexico early Wednesday, but forecasters warned it would dump unsafe amounts of rain on the US later in the day.

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As it deals with Newton, Cabo San Lucas still remembers the severe battering it took in 2014 when a stronger storm, Hurricane Odile, caused extensive damage.

People help a tourist move his auto after it became stuck in the sand, after the passing of Hurricane Newton in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016.

Roberto Dominguez, a customer relations worker at the Fairfield Marriot, said the hotel’s windows and balconies had been sufficiently protected from the storm and guests were fine, although cellphone and internet services had been knocked out.

La Paz: Hurricane Newton uprooted trees, broke windows and left two people dead as it roared across Mexico’s northwestern Baja California peninsula on Tuesday, but the tourist region was spared of major damage.

A couple walks next to an advertisement toppled by Hurricane Newton in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Tuesday Sept. 6, 2016.

Although it packed a punch, Newton did not bring the same level of destruction to Los Cabos as Hurricane Odile, which devastated parts of the luxury resort region in September 2014.

(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo). A man recovers belongings after the passing of Hurricane Newton in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016.

He said the three other crew members were missing, adding that the navy was searching for their bodies.

It’s the second landfall for Newton.

Local airports closed late Monday, while small boats were barred from using the ports in case of a storm surge in low-lying areas areas.

After passing over the resort area, Newton headed northward up the sparsely populated interior of the peninsula and then sput out over the gulf during the night.

Newton’s maximum sustained winds increased to 75 miles per hour (120 kph) by midafternoon Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported. The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted Newton could leave the peninsula and enter the gulf during the night.

About 14,000 tourists remained in Los Cabos overnight Monday and had been advised to remain in their hotels. “It was a rough one as you can see”. But there was calm in the city as firefighters cleaned refuse from the streets during the day.

The storm faded after unleashing 90-mph winds and heavy rains on the tourist resorts of Los Cabos on Tuesday.

The hurricane centre said the storm could dump one to three inches of rain over parts of Arizona and New Mexico through Thursday, threatening flash floods and landslides.

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“You know, it could have been a lot worse and I think we are very fortunate that it wasn’t as bad as Odile”, said Darlene Savord, another tourist from California.

Rains associated with Newton prompted people to evacuate their homes and damaged residences