Hurricane Grace killed at least eight people, including five children from the same family, as it tore through eastern Mexico Saturday, causing flooding, mudslides and damage to homes and businesses.

The storm made landfall in Mexico for a second time near Tecolutla in Veracruz state as a major Category Three storm with winds of 125 miles (200 kilometers) per hour.

In the Veracruz state capital, Xalapa, streets were turned into muddy brown rivers.

The victims included a mother and five of her children, who were buried when a hillside collapsed on their small home.

"I heard the earth collapsing. The hill was swept away and they were all down there --  my wife and six children," he told AFP, his voice breaking.

His wife and five other children, including a two-week-old baby girl, did not survive.

The streets of Tecolutla, home to about 24,000 people, were littered with fallen trees, signs and roof panels.

"It was many years' effort," he said.

Many homes in the region were left without electricity.

The Mexican authorities remained on alert due to the threat of rivers overflowing and landslides, mainly in Veracruz.

Nearly 8,000 civil defense members, soldiers and electricity board workers had been put on standby ready to tackle the aftermath of the storm, he said on Friday night.

They closed most highways in Veracruz, which is crossed by numerous rivers.

In preparation for the storm, workers along the coast boarded up windows to protect stores, fishermen brought their boats ashore and residents secured their homes after stocking up on canned food and water.

"About 35,000 fishermen will be affected because we can't go out," he said.

"The whole sheet was blown off. I was there holding it," he said, expressing relief that his boat was not damaged too.

TH