Sawt Falasteen - One dead as Hurricane Simon creeps along Mexico's Pacific coast

The storm did not make landfall and weakened to Category 2 on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale.

The victim was a 71-year-old man who "died when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo" in the southern state of Guerrero, Governor Evelyn Salgado said during the daily presidential press conference.

Simon was moving away from the coast, authorities said, adding that a rain alert remained in place and warning that waves of up to five meters were still expected in some coastal areas.

Flooding and landslides had already hit communities close to rivers and streams in the states of Michoacan and Colima.

Simon will approach Mexico's west-central coast between Wednesday and Thursday, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The latest official report from Mexican authorities indicates that "it will hit Mazatlan, Sinaloa, as a Category 1 hurricane," said national civil protection coordinator Laura Velazquez.

The tourist gem of Puerto Vallarta, which had been bracing for extreme weather, awoke Monday to clear skies and a rainbow, an AFP team observed.

Residents of the beach resort exercised along the seafront promenade as waves continued to crash with force.

Magda Flores, 55, told AFP she felt "much more at ease," voicing hope that shuttered businesses would reopen soon.

Another storm, Hurricane Rachel, meanwhile dissipated in Baja California state bordering the United States.

Ten people remain missing and one child was found dead, Governor Marina del Pilar Avila reported.

The El Nino phenomenon, characterized by rising water temperatures in the Pacific, is fueling a more intense hurricane season in the region.

A.Suleiman--SF-PST