Hurricane Rina Strengthens, Edges Toward Mexico
Hurricane Rina is strengthening in the western Caribbean as it edges closer to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where a hurricane watch is in effect.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Rina
intensified Monday into a Category 2 hurricane
with winds of 160 kilometers per hour. It is
expected to strengthen further into a "major"
hurricane by early Wednesday.
Rina's projected path shows it hitting the
popular Mexican resort of Cancun late Thursday.
The U.S. weather agency issued the hurricane
watch for the east coast of the Yucatan
Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun.
The storm's center was more than 400 kilometers
east of the Mexican city of Chetumal early
Tuesday local time and was slowly moving west.
Meanwhile, Nicaraguan authorities were searching
for a navy boat that disappeared during a
mission to evacuate coastal residents as the
storm approached on Sunday. Officials say 27
people were on board the vessel when contact was
lost.
Heavy rains have hit parts of Central America in
recent weeks, causing deadly flooding and
damaging vast areas of farmland.
Some information for this report was provided by AP,AFP and Reuters.
