MEXICO CITY, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Jimena has rendered at least 8,000 people homeless and cut electricity supplies to lots of other homes within one day after reaching Mexico, local authorities said on Thursday.

    Jimena, now degraded to a tropical storm, has destroyed hundreds of houses, broken electricity transmission posts and damaged a bridge that leads to a highway.

    The tropical storm, now located in the Gulf of California between the Mexican states of Baja California Sur and Baja California, were still blowing at a speed of 75 kilometers per hour with occasional gusts spiking to 95 kilometers per hour.

    The Mexican Civil Protection authorities said the most affected communities were found in Cabos, Ciudad Constitucionin, Comondu, La Paz, Loreto and Mulege in Baja California Sur in the northwest.

    Jimena also affected telephone services and damaged drinking water pipelines in some areas of the state.

    Authorities in the neighboring state of Sonora have declared an alert and ordered evacuations from Guyamas and Empalme.

    Hurricanes blow at speeds between 119 kilometers per hour and upwards of 200 kilometers per hour.