Los Angeles - The storm formerly known as Hurricane Paul weakened into a tropical depression on Wednesday as it moved away from Mexico's west coast after triggering floods and damaging around 100 homes.
Paul was 25km from the Baja California peninsula at 21h00 GMT as it moved towards the northwest into the ocean with maximum sustained winds of 55km/h, Mexico's National Weather Service said.
The storm did not make landfall, but civil protection authorities in the state of Baja California Sur said its winds and rain damaged around 100 homes, flooded some areas and took down trees.
Up to 40 percent of the small fishing communities in Bahia de Magdalena were flooded while 500 people were taken to shelters after being evacuated from islands, said Venustiano Perez, mayor of the town of Comondu.
After becoming a category three hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale on Monday, Paul weakened gradually as it approached Baja California, becoming a tropical storm on Tuesday then losing more steam on Wednesday.
Mexican authorities declared a state of emergency to unlock funds for the towns of Comondu, La Paz, Loreto and Mulenge. - AFP