Hurricane Franklin makes landfall on coast of Mexico

MEXICO CITY – Hurricane Franklin made landfall on Mexico’s central Gulf coast Thursday, pounding a mountainous region prone to flash floods and mudslides with torrential rains and heavy winds.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm reached the coastline about 80 miles southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico, early Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.

Franklin strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Wednesday and its landing on the coastline early Thursday is the second on Mexican territory in three days. As a tropical storm, Franklin made a relatively mild run across the Yucatan Peninsula earlier in the week.

Authorities in Veracruz ordered classes canceled at public schools. Schools are frequently used as storm shelters in Mexico.

Mexico Civil Defense director Ricardo de la Cruz said earlier Tuesday the storm’s impact on Yucatan was not as bad as initially feared, with some trees down and power out in some areas.

But, he warned, “the second impact could even be stronger than the first.”