INTERNATIONAL: The death toll caused by Hurricane Agatha in Mexico has risen to 11, with another 33 missing and thousands of people affected with heavy rains likely to continue, according to authorities on Wednesday 1st June.

Authorities worked overnight on Tuesday 31st May to clear highways blocked by mudslides along Mexico's southern coast as Tropical Storm Agatha barreled down on the country, bringing torrential rains and strong winds.

Agatha made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Monday afternoon, touching down with 105 miles per hour winds (169 kilometers per hour) near the beach town of Puerto Angel on the Pacific coast.

By Monday evening Agatha weakened to a tropical storm and is expected to dissipate further by Tuesday evening, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), which maintained a warning of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in Oaxaca State.

Rain caused mud and rocks to slide into two highways in Oaxaca, blocking access to at least one area of the state, local authorities said. Mexico's transportation ministry was working to clear the roads late on Monday evening.

Some towns in Oaxaca were left without electricity, and one transformer exploded, authorities said. Telephone lines were knocked out on Monday, forcing authorities to communicate by radio.

Agatha is expected to drop a total of 10 to 16 inches (25-41 centimeter’s) of rain on Oaxaca, with heavy downpours in nearby states of Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco and eastern Guerrero, the NHC said.

Wednesday the highway that connects Zipolite with the communities of Pochutla and Puerto Angel was opened, which was interrupted since Monday when Agatha impacted the coast of Oaxaca.

Zipolite, the only nudist beach in the country was severely affected, which is a great attraction for foreign tourism.

Residents and some of the tourists who were stranded are still facing food and water shortage, and a lack of fuel, electricity, and telecommunications services.

Dozens of houses were damaged, many of which were left uninhabitable by the swollen rivers and residents returned today to save some of their belongings.

^{PHOTO: FOOTAGE OF RESTAURANTS, HOTELS AND PROPERTIES DAMAGED IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE AGATHA / SOUNDBITES FROM AFFECTED LOCALS ON MATERIAL LOSSES / TOURISTS SPEAKING ABOUT EXPERIENCE IN HURRICANE'S AFTERMATH / OVERFLOWN RIVER / VARIOUS OF LOCALS SALVAGING BELONGINGS}