MEXICO CITY, July 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The Mexican National Disaster Prevention Center said Wednesday in its latest report that Hurricane Emily will weaken to a tropical storm after 19:00 local time (2100 GMT Tuesday).

    The forecast said that by Wednesday evening, Emily will move ata speed of some 95 kph, a noticeable loss of strength compared to the speed of some 200 kph it had in it's early hours.

    It is expected that by 19:00 hours, Hurricane Emily will be in Nuevo Leon state, 110 km from the state capital Monterrey, where three airlines have canceled flights in preparation for the storm.

    The eastern states of Veracruz and San Luis Potosi will be affected by the hurricane. The Disaster Prevention Center said that Emily moved down from a dangerous category three on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, to category one after touching down in Tamaulipas state.

    Emily entered into Tamaulipas state at 205 kph (category three), but by noon it had weakened into a category two hurricane,representing wind speeds of between 154 to 177 kph, and is still losing speed.

    Eugenio Hernandez, governor of Tamaulipas, said so far there have been no reports of fatalities, but expressed his concern for the 20 people of a fishing village who refused to be evacuated despite the fact that they live within the hazardous path of the hurricane.

    In Tamaulipas, 300 shelters were set up, capable of sheltering 28,000 people.

    A state of alert was declared in the neighboring Veracruz state, which is threatened by the possible overflowing of rivers and floods.

    Hurricane Emily was measured at category four (wind speeds of between 210 to 249 kph) when it devastated the Yucatan Peninsula in southeastern Mexico at 217 kph winds on Monday, smashing hotelsand homes in the popular resort area and putting a stop to all of Mexico's oil exports.

    Hundreds of residents were left homeless and two helicopter pilots were killed while evacuating the oil rigs of State-run petroleum firm PEMEX in the Gulf of Mexico.

    In the southern state of Oaxaca in the Tehuantepec Isthmus, three women and three girls were killed by a landslide as a consequence of intense rains brought by the hurricane, said Civil Protection Director of Oaxaca Hector Gonzalez.

    In the Yucatan peninsula, Quintana Roo state suffered 76 million US dollars in material damage but no loss of life, according to Governor Felix Gonzalez. He announced that the state will resume it's tourist activity shortly. Enditem