The powerful Hurricane Dean weakened to a tropical depression on Thursday, but its destructive force killed four people in Mexico and left behind a trail of untenable damage and suffering.

Heavy rains poured down on Mexico since Wednesday, as the storm was reportedly heading towards the mountainous areas in the country’s central region where it was expected to finally dissipate.

After raging across the Caribbean, where it killed 21 persons in the Lesser Antilles, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, Dean made landfall as a category five storm in the Yucatan Peninsula.

No victims were reported as the fierce hurricane headed out to sea on a collision course with the oil rigs operating in the Bay of Campeche. All platforms were evacuated and production was ceased, the state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) suffering massive losses due to this standstill.

The company said regular parameters will be reached on Friday, as platforms slowly begin to resume their operations.

After meeting with warm currents in the Gulf of Mexico, Dean got some strength back and returned to the mainland on Wednesday. Massive rainfall triggered floods and landslides in central Mexico, two people being reported dead in the state of Hidalgo.

Approximately 10,000 people were forced to head for shelters after the water level began to rise dangerously and powerful winds toppled trees and electricity poles. A man was killed in the Puebla state after a wall couldn’t resist the strong winds and came down on him. 

A fourth victims was reported in the neighbouring Veracruz, a man being electrocuted as he was trying to repair a damaged roof. Authorities warned the population that floods and especially mudslides will occur in the following period due to the continuous downpours.

Hurricane Dean damaged hundreds of buildings, destroyed crops and seriously affected the blooming tourism industry on the coastal areas, preliminary evaluations bringing the overall damages to more than 400 million dollars.