Mexico Shakes With a 7.4

Usually most of the shaking coming out of Mexico involves what American tourists feel in their stomach when they return home, but today a strong 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Southern Mexico on shaking central and southern parts of the country. Fear and panic spread as a less powerful, magnitude-5.1 aftershock was also felt in the capital.

Hours after the shaking at noon local time, there were still no reports of death or serious injury.  Some buildings and homes were reported as damaged.

Paulding County Hit Hardest By Georgia Tornados

Tornados hit various spots in Georgia last week.  Paulding County, west of Atlanta sustained the most damage.

Storms Hit Midwest and South

Powerful storms spawned tornadoes that killed dozens as they ripped through the South and Midwest, flattening towns and turning churches into shelters.

At least 28 people were killed: 15 in Indiana, 12 in Kentucky and one in Ohio.

Rescue workers combed through rubble overnight for dozens believed missing after the storms struck Friday, according to state and local authorities.

In Tennessee, there were reports of possible tornado touchdowns in nine counties, according to Jeremy Heidt, the state's emergency management spokesman. At least 29 people were injured across the state, said Dean Flener, also with TEMA.

By early Saturday morning, as the storms moved through northern Georgia, a tornado was believed to have struck in north Georgia's Paulding County, damaging two elementary schools, a small local airport and an undetermined number of homes, said Ashley Henson, a sheriff's spokesman.

Damage at a Home Depot in East Cobb County, GA

Jova Comes Ashore in Mexico

Hurricane Jova came ashore near Mexico’s Pacific resort of Manzanillo, packing a punch with winds of 85 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which lashed the region with heavy rain and high surf, was 80 miles northwest of Manzanillo and moving north at 9 mph, the center said today in a 2 a.m. PDT advisory.

A “dangerous storm surge” will bring life-threatening waves and coastal flooding to the area while weakening over land, the Miami-based center said. Rainfall totals may reach as much as 20 inches in Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states.

West of Jova and at sea, Tropical Storm Irwin regained strength with winds of 40 mph. Irwin is about 555 miles from the southern tip of Baja California. It is forecast to weaken again to a tropical depression and dissipate over the Pacific.

The center is also monitoring a tropical depression bearing 35 mph winds that formed just south of Mexico’s Gulf of Tehuantepec near the Guatemala border that may become a tropical storm later today and move inland tonight.

Minor Changes to U.S. Open Day 1 Schedule

The United States Open will begin as scheduled, at 11 a.m. on Monday, on a majority of the courts. The biggest change is at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the first match will begin at 1 p.m. instead of 11 a.m.

In a statement sent Sunday night, the United States Tennis Association said the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center had emerged from Hurricane Irene “with minimal damage.” It also said gates would open to the public at 10 a.m. on Monday.

“From our perspective, we were very fortunate,” said Daniel Zausner, the managing director of facility operations for the U.S.T.A. “There was virtually no damage, and any damage we had was cosmetic in nature.”

The damage that occured is mostly in the form of damaged fences or minor cosmetic damage.  There was no flooding reported or any structural damage.