Dean makes last landfall, weakens

Dean makes last landfall, weakens.
Hurricane Dean restrengthened to Category 2 intensity Wednesday and swept Mexico"s Gulf Coast with rain and 100-mph wind as its core slammed into the coast for the final time. Then, it moved inland and lost its punch, demoted to a tropical storm at 5 p.m. EDT. Forecasters warned, however, that its rain still posed a serious threat to residents of inland mountains and valleys. The second landfall Mexico came near the town of Tecolutla, just east of Gutierrez Zamora and about 40 miles south-southeast of Tuxpan. About 135,000 people live in the area around Tuxpan, including 79,000 within the city itself. Troops and emergency workers already had ushered thousands of residents to inland shelters. More than 100 oil rigs and related facilities had been evacuated.