Hurricane Bret was downgraded as it lost strength early yesterday but continued to drench southern Texas with heavy rain. There were no reports of serious injuries or severe damage. Early yesterday, Bret's centre was located 96 km south-west of Corpus Christi, moving west towards the Rio Grande valley and Mexico.
Maximum sustained winds had subsided to 129 k.p.h., making it a category one hurricane, the lowest of five hurricane classifications.
Bret slipped ashore on Sunday and continued to drench a 241 km strip of the Texas coast from Brownsville to just above Corpus Christi and areas immediately inland.
Corpus Christi, with a population of almost 300,000, had gusts up to 117 k.p.h. but escaped major damage.
The National Weather Service had feared Bret could become another Hurricane Andrew, which killed 40 people and caused massive damage near Miami in 1992.
Thousands fled beaches on the southerly Algarve region of Portugal on Sunday after a tidal wave alert. The sighting turned out to be an optical illusion created by intense heat.
