Nautla, Mexico - Hurricane Lorenzo crashed into Mexico's Gulf coast on Friday, knocking out power to 85 000 homes and dumping torrential rains on the already waterlogged coffee-growing state of Veracruz.

In the coastal fishing town of Nautla, Lorenzo ripped off bits of roofs, blew down trees and scattered debris in the streets.

"It hit us hard and there is an incredible amount of rain," said Mayra Castro, 29, a local waitress who spent the night mopping up water that leaked into her house through windows and under doors.

Lorenzo made landfall close to Nautla as a Category 1 hurricane overnight but there were no immediate reports of deaths.

Around 100 000 people living on the coast between the port city of Tuxpan and Nautla were evacuated to shelters ahead of the storm.

It was not seen affecting Mexico's oil production, which is centred to the southeast of the landfall area.

Lorenzo lost force after it touched land and was downgraded to a tropical depression, its maximum winds dropping to 35 mph/55 kph, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.

The storm knocked down three power transmission lines leaving 85 000 homes along the coast without electricity, the Federal Electricity Commission said.

The weakening storm should dissipate "in a day or so," the Miami-based hurricane centre said, but it could dump 13-26 centimetres of rain over portions of east-central Mexico which could cause flash floods and mud slides.

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