Tropical Storm Marco Lashes Mexico`s Gulf Coast

Rivers overflowed and rising floodwaters were 3 feet (1 meter) deep in coastal towns near the port city of Veracruz.

Tropical Storm Marco rolled over Mexico's Gulf coast on Tuesday, dumping heavy rain and flooding coastal areas but causing little disruption to the country's oil industry.

Rivers overflowed and rising floodwaters were three feet (1 metre) deep in coastal towns near the port city of Veracruz as the storm made landfall on Tuesday morning.

There were no reports of people injured or missing but residents were scrambling to move their possessions and animals away from the flood plains.

Mexico's main oil export ports remained open and state oil company Pemex said output from only one natural gas field had been affected.

Four production platforms near the coast were evacuated on Monday afternoon but the country's giant Cantarell and Ku Maloob Zaap oil fields were unaffected.

The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression by the afternoon.

Veracruz produces some 40 percent of Mexico's sugar and is the second-largest coffee-producing state. Coffee producers said the crop was not hurt by the rain since most plantations are in higher-altitude cloud forests.

Sugar cane growers said major planting areas in the north and south of the state were pounded by rain but had no immediate reports of damage.

Off Mexico's Pacific coast, Hurricane Norbert churned north towards the Baja California peninsula, where it was expected to make landfall on the weekend.