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Felix 'potentially catastrophic'
03/09/2007 07:25 - (SA)
Oranjestad, Aruba - Felix rapidly strengthened into a dangerous Category 5 Hurricane and churned through the Caribbean Sea on a path toward Central America, where forecasters said it could make landfall as "potentially catastrophic" storm.
Felix was packing winds of up to 270kph as it headed west, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
It was projected to skirt Honduras' coastline on Tuesday before slamming into Belize on Wednesday.
A hurricane watch was issued for parts of Honduras, where authorities were keeping a close eye on the storm but had not begun any evacuations. Along the northern coastline, hoteliers said, tourists were still lounging by the pool and enjoying the sun.
In Belize, residents stocked up on water and food, and nailed boards over windows to protect against the hurricane's howling winds. Many who lived in low-lying areas were seeking higher ground.
Heavy rains and winds
On Sunday, Felix toppled trees and flooded some homes on the Dutch islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire in the southern Caribbean. Heavy rains and winds caused scattered power outages and forced thousands of tourists to take refuge in hotels, but residents expressed relief it did far less damage than feared as the storm's outer bands grazed the tiny islands.
"Thankfully we didn't get a very bad storm. My dog slept peacefully through the night," said Bonaire medical administrator Siomara Albertus, who waited out the storm in her home with her Labrador retriever.
Many Bonaire residents prepared for the worst, installing storm shutters and hauling their boats ashore, but winds from Felix's outer bands left little damage. In Curacao, several homes in a low-lying area were flooded.
In Aruba, there was also little visible damage, although at least one catamaran snapped off its mooring, a house was damaged by a downed tree and power was temporarily knocked out in a northern town.
Felix is the second Atlantic hurricane of the season following last month's Hurricane Dean, which killed at least 20 in the Caribbean and carved out a destructive swath stretching from St. Lucia to Mexico.
- AP
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