¡¡¡¡MEXICO CITY, Oct. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Tropical storm Larry churning in the Gulf of Mexico has lashed the southeastern, northern and central regions of the country in the past few days, killing at least 11 people and leaving many others missing, authorities said on Thursday.

¡¡¡¡In a number of states, heavy rains flooded dozens villages, destroyed many houses and roads and devastated large areas of farmland, the National Civil Defense authorities said.

¡¡¡¡In the state of Veracruz alone, 16,000 people were affected and1,200 left homeless, causing tens of millions of dollars in economic losses.

¡¡¡¡Before Larry hit the country, Hurricane Marty bashed northwestern and central Mexico, killing 15 people and affecting more than 50,000.

¡¡¡¡As a result of heavy rains and the effects of changing climate,there has been an outbreak of dengue fever in four states of the country. More than 3,000 cases of dengue fever were reported and seven of them died.

¡¡¡¡Mexican President Vicente Fox Thursday urged relevant authorities to strengthen preventive measures against the deadly disease and prevent the epidemic further spreading. Enditem