Two dead in Texas hurricane

The hurricane destroyed many buildings in Port O'Connor

Hurricane Claudette has claimed two lives after battering the Texas coast before the winds began to abate.

A 33-year-old woman and a 13-year-old boy were killed when they were hit by falling trees.

The coast guard also had to rescue two men when their shrimp boat sank.

Click here to see a map of the path of the storm

Claudette, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, was downgraded to a tropical storm after weakening after coming inland, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said.

Claudette began to batter the Texas coast with 130km/h winds on Tuesday, causing power failures and flooding in low-lying areas.

Winds ripped roofs off homes and flying debris filled the air in the fishing village of Port O'Connor and boats were torn from their moorings.

In Galveston, south of Houston, waves as high as 12ft (four metres) slammed into the city's sea wall.

A woman in Victoria, 40 miles (65km) inland from Port O'Connor, was killed when she was hit by a falling tree limb.

The windows are flexing, it's howling and I'm wondering what I'm doing here Ed Conaway South Texas nuclear plant

The teenage boy died in Jourdanton, near San Antonio, when he was hit by a tree.

Gusts of 88mph were recorded at the site of the South Texas Project nuclear power plant in Wadsworth.

"The windows are flexing, it's howling and I'm wondering what I'm doing here," Ed Conaway said at the power plant.

As it crossed land, Claudette was downgraded to a tropical storm, with winds down to 70mph.

Claudette is the third tropical storm since the Atlantic hurricane season began, which runs between June and the end of November.

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