Tropical Storm Paul loses steam as it swirls toward Mexican mainland

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico — A weakening Tropical Storm Paul swirled just south of Mexico's Baja California peninsula Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of shantytown residents on a stretch of coastline famed for its golf courses and beaches.

The tropical storm, which weakened from a hurricane Tuesday, had top winds near 45 mph. The storm was expected to weaken further before hitting land Thursday near the resort of Mazatlan on Mexico's mainland Pacific coast.

While the threat of damage from the storm had diminished, the National Hurricane Center in Miami warned it could dump up to 10 inches of rain, causing flash flooding and landslides.

On Wednesday morning, Tropical Storm Paul was located 70 miles east of Cabo San Lucas and 180 miles west of Mazatlan. It was moving northeast at 14 mph.

Paul's maximum sustained winds had reached 110 mph Monday, making it a Category 2 hurricane and the third hurricane to threaten Baja California this season.

The storm has killed one person and left another person missing.

A 23-year-old Mexican fisherman died Monday after he slipped off rocks into rough seas in the coastal community of Todos Santos, north of Los Cabos, said Baja California Sur civil defense director Jose Gajon.

Off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, officials were searching for the body of an American who was swept away by the waves while he was walking along the beach with his wife and sister.

Gilberto Guzman, manager of the SolMar Hotel, identified the missing tourist as John Skoor, 65, of Moses Lake, Wash. Guzman said "an enormous wave" swept Skoor and his sister out to sea late Monday. Hotel staff were able to save the sister.

San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas are popular with sports fishermen and celebrities and famous for world-class golf courses and beaches flanked by cactus-dotted deserts.

On Tuesday, streets were flooded with ankle-deep water in Cabo San Lucas, where authorities closed schools and opened eight shelters. Later police drove through neighborhoods, calling on people to take refuge.

City government spokesman Jorge Castaneda said there had been plans to evacuate at least 1,000 residents, most from shantytowns in areas at high risk for flooding, but in the end only about 100 went to shelters.

Guadalupe Herrera preferred to stay in her wooden shack. "If we leave our house alone, we will be robbed," she said.