Hurricane Alex churns toward Texas, Mexican coasts

MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Alex bore down on Mexico and southern Texas today, flooding roads and forcing thousands of people to evacuate from fishing villages.

The storm was far from the oil spill cleanup, but rough seas pushed more of the oil onto Gulf coast beaches and cleanup vessels were sidelined by the hurricane's ripple effects.

Alex had winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, and it was the first June hurricane in the Atlantic since 1995, the center said.

Bands of heavy rains quickly inundated roads today in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, a worrisome sign with Alex expected to dump as much as 12 inches of rain in the region, with perhaps 20 inches in isolated areas.