Perilous Times and Climate Change
12 October 2010 Last updated at 14:34 ET
Hurricane gains strength as it heads to Mexican coast
Hurricane Paula is gaining strength as it is heading towards Mexico's
Yucatan Peninsula.
The hurricane intensified to a category-two storm with winds of up to
160km/h (100 mph), forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center said.
It has brought strong winds and heavy rain to north-east Honduras and
damaged homes in Honduras, officials said.
The centre of the hurricane was expected to hit the Mexican coast on
Tuesday night.
Heavy rainfall was also expected in Nicaragua and Belize.
At 17.45 GMT Paula was located some 220km (140 miles) south-east of the
island of Cozumel off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the Hurricane Center
said.
The storm is moving north towards the peninsula, where a hurricane
warning is in force along part of the coast.
As Paula approached, schools were closed along the eastern coast of
Honduras.
Officials said rain of up to 20cm (8 inches) of rain had fallen in part
of the country. In the eastern region of Gracias de Dios, winds and
rain had damaged 19 homes, they said.
Mexico and Central America have been hit by a series of floods and
landslides in recent weeks, with thousands of people left homeless.