Mudslides triggered by storm claim 40 lives in eastern Mexico

Mudslides triggered by intense rainfall in eastern Mexico killed 40 people at the weekend as hillsides collapsed onto homes in the wake of now-dissipated Tropical Storm Earl. The death toll rose late on Sunday after state governors in the two most affected states confirmed two more deaths from a series of mudslides that struck hillside communities. The head of national emergency services previously put the death toll at 38, the vast majority of whom were found in Puebla state, while the remainder died in neighboring Veracruz. On the Pacific coast, Mexico's Baja California peninsula braced for another major storm to strike as early as Monday. Tropical Storm Javier was generating maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour on Sunday night and was forecast to become a hurricane late Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a statement. The center of the storm was expected to strike the southern tip of Baja, home to the beach resort of Los Cabos, by Monday night.