Deadly Newton Affecting Southern Arizona After Second Landfall in Mexico

Ada Carr
Published: September 7,2016

After making landfall for a second time Wednesday, Tropical Storm Newton is moving from Mexico's mainland near Bahia Kino toward the Southwest U.S. It has weakened to a tropical storm and is expected to bring heavy rains to Arizona and New Mexico.
In southeastern Arizona, light to moderate rain continues to fall and a flash flood watch remains in effect through Wednesday. City workers in Tucson are monitoring more than 140 dips in low-lying roads for possible street flooding.
Sandbags are in high demand as Arizona residents prepare for flooding. Tucson and Nogales were providing them to residents ahead of the rainfall.

At Least 5 Dead, 3 Missing in Mexico

Three people have reportedly died from the impacts of the tropical system, which made its first landfall Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 90 mph on Mexico's Baja Peninsula near the Cabo San Lucas resort area.
According to ABC News, two more people were killed and three went missing Wednesday after a shrimp boat capsized in rough seas in the Gulf of California as it was en route from Ensenada to Mazatlan.
The hurricane reportedly knocked out power in parts of Cabo San Lucas, broke windows and blew down at least half a dozen palm trees along the coastal boulevard. Some homes in the area received damage.
(MORE: Track Newton as It Moves North)
About 14,000 tourists were in Los Cabos during the storm, tourism officials said, and visitors began venturing out after Newton passed.

Damage Near Acapulco

According to the French Press Agency, the weather system caused damage in the southern part of Mexico before arriving in the Baja Peninsula, and heavy rain from the system is being blamed for at least three deaths in the southern state of Chiapas. Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico's civil defense agency, said there were no additional deaths and nobody was missing on the Baja Peninsula after Newton hit Los Cabos, the AP reported.
Before the system became a tropical storm, at least 70 homes and schools were damaged in Acapulco in the state of Guerrero and 200 people were trapped in a housing complex, prompting air evacuations by police, marines and the army.
Heavy rain in Guerrero on Saturday led to the flooding of at least 1,400 homes and a reported 30 landslides impacted the state's highways, civil protection authorities said.
(MORE: Anthem of the Seas Cruise Ship Battles Rough Seas Left Behind by Hermine)

Residents and tourists alike were relieved to find out the storm caused only minor damage in Los Cabos, especially after the resort city suffered severe damage from Odile, which made landfall on the peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane in 2014.
"You know, it could have been a lot worse and I think we are very fortunate that it wasn't as bad as Odile," Darlene Savord, who was on vacation from California, told the AP. "I think that we are very fortunate and blessed."