Ernesto Becomes a Hurricane Before Yucatan Landfall Isela Serrano and David Alire Garcia - Reuters
go to original August 7, 2012

Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook - This product is updated at approximately 5 AM, 11 AM, 5 PM, and 11 PM PDT from June 1 to November 30. (NOAA/National Hurricane Center)

CANCUN/CHETUMAL, Mexico - Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday just hours before making landfall on the southern part of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, home to popular tourist destinations.

Ernesto had top sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 km per hour) and was located 185 miles (295 km) east of Chetumal, Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 2:00 p.m. EDT advisory.

"I am only going to pack up my things but will not evacuate. Streets do flood but the water comes down quickly," said street vendor Rita Lopez, 46, as some light rain sprinkled Chetumal. "This is normal, I don't think this one is going to hit very hard."

Ernesto is forecast to arrive in the southern Gulf of Mexico, where state oil company Pemex has port facilities and offshore platforms, late on Wednesday. Pemex has said it was keeping an eye on the hurricane but there were no reports of evacuations or shipping restrictions.

Earlier on Tuesday, authorities from the Mexican state of Quintana Roo ordered the evacuation of some 1,500 people in the southern portion of the state, known for its scuba diving and eco-tourism attractions.

"These are just precautionary measures," said worker Francisco Velazquez, who led a group of five men wearing raincoats and wielding hammers and nails as they boarded windows at a government office in Chetumal.

While the eye of Ernesto is not expected to hit the region's major resort of Cancun, some rain fell in the area, which is packed with local and international visitors this time of the year.

Cancun, some 230 miles (380 km) to the north of the storm's forecast path, was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Wilma, the most intense storm ever recorded in the Atlantic.

"The center of Ernesto is forecast to move across the Yucatan peninsula late tonight and early Wednesday, and emerge over the Bay of Campeche by Wednesday afternoon or evening," the NHC said.

Hurricane warnings were extended northwards to the resort island of Cozumel from Chetumal and include the entire coast of low-lying Belize. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Atlantic coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua.

Mexico's top airline Aeromexico canceled a late flight to the Chetumal airport on Tuesday and one more Wednesday morning due to the bad weather, the company's regional office said.

One cruise ship which was due to dock at Cozumel on Wednesday canceled its visit and another was diverted to Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Heavy rain hit northern Honduras early Tuesday but there were no reports of damage.

Rainfall of four to eight inches (10 to 20 cm), and possibly 12 inches (30 cm) in some areas, were expected over Belize and the southern portions of the Yucatan peninsula.

Belize's government said 175 residents of outlying islands had voluntarily moved to safer ground, and five emergency shelters were being set up to house evacuees.

August and September are usually the most active months of the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia on Tegucigalpa, Mike McDonald in Guatemala City and Cyntia Barrera in Mexico City; Editing by Krista Hughes and Eric Walsh

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!