Hurricane Erick slammed into Mexico’s Oaxaca state as a dangerous Category 3 storm Thursday morning, unleashing powerful winds at the coast and heavy rains that have caused deadly flooding in the region.

Powerful Hurricane Erick made landfall in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca early Thursday as a major hurricane before moving inland and weakening as it dumped heavy rain, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Hurricane Erick had strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approached the coast but weakened to a Category 2 storm before making landfall on Thursday.