Lorena weakens into tropical depression off Mexico

Lorena was downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression Saturday as it swirled off the coast of Mexico near the Baja California peninsula.

The storm has dumped heavy rain on the region and had prompted authorities to prepare shelters for the evacuation of 30,000 people from the resort of Los Cabos.

As of 1500 GMT, Lorena was 75 kilometers (120 miles) south-southeast from the tip of the Mexican peninsula, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

It was moving parallel to the coast at six miles an hour with winds of 35 miles an hour, the center said, adding "some weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Lorena is expected to become a remnant low this evening or early on Sunday."

Municipal civil protection director, Wenceslao Petit told AFP officials expected to "evacuate some 30,000 people from the high risk areas of Los Cabos. They won't all go to shelters. Some will stay with relatives."

The hotels in the beach resort of Cabo San Lucas, which is part of the Los Cabos municipality, have their own shelters for tourists.

Another 3,500 people were to have been evacuated from the town of La Paz in the state of Baja California, which is on the northern half of the peninsula.