Alex, a day later

Nearly 24 hours after it made landfall on the coast of Mexico as a strong Category 2 hurricane, Alex was downgraded to a tropical depression with winds of just 30 mph, according to the 11 p.m. update from the National Weather Service.

The remnants of Alex, which dissipated over the mountains of central Mexico, are still expected to dump several inches of rain.

Here are some of the headlines of Alex, courtesy of the Associated Press:

• Hurricane Alex ripped off roofs, caused severe flooding and forced thousands of people to flee coastal fishing villages as it hit land Wednesday evening in the border state of Tamaulipas. Power and telephone service were down in several towns and cities.
• The dry Santa Catarina river that cuts through Monterrey roared to life, sweeping away cars and parts of rickety, wooden homes built along its path.
• One man died when he was caught by a torrent of water along a six-lane highway. Another man was found drowned by the side of a creek.
• There were reports of 16 inches of rain in some areas of Mexico by Thursday night.
• Raging winds knocked down hundreds of trees, telephone posts and traffic lights in the Matamoros area and farther south along Mexico's northern Gulf coast. Power and telephone service was out in San Fernando, a town near where Alex made landfall, and in the state capital of Ciudad Victoria.
• The Mexican Navy reported it had rescued seven people Wednesday from a fishing boat that ran aground on the remote, low-lying Gulf island of Cayo Nuevo, about 130 miles off the Mexican coast, amid high waves and heavy rain. The fishermen had to be pulled off the key by rescue divers.
• Alex whipped up high waves that frustrated oil-spill cleanup efforts on the other side of the Gulf of Mexico and delivered tar balls and globs of crude onto already soiled beaches.