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Hurricane Dean Heads for Mexico

Thousands flee as Category 5 storm approaches resorts

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 20, 2007 5:06 PM CDT
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(Newser) – The Mayan Riviera emptied today as tens of thousands fled before Hurricane Dean, which has already killed nine and will likely be a Category 5 by the time it hits the Yucatan Peninsula tomorrow. Tourist destinations in the area are still recovering from 2005’s Hurricane Wilma, and beach resorts could see even worse damage this time, Reuters reports.

In preparation for the storm, warnings were broadcast in the local Mayan Indian language, windows were boarded up, and oil shipments were suspended. Inland shelters accommodated the influx of residents and tourists from coastal areas. Cancun is no longer considered likely to bear the brunt of the storm, but central Mexico and Belize are still in danger.

for shelter. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
for shelter. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)   (Associated Press)
MEXICO. Yucatan Penninsula. 1962. Giant pyramid of Chichen Itza viewed from the Temple of the Jaguar. (NYC31667)
MEXICO. Yucatan Penninsula. 1962. Giant pyramid of Chichen Itza viewed from the Temple of the Jaguar. (NYC31667)   (Magnum Photos)
TRAVEL WLT-COBA OS
TRAVEL WLT-COBA OS   (KRT Photos)
A photojournalist fights the wind to approach to a waterfront boulevard in downtown Kingston, during the pass of Hurricane Dean over Jamaica, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. Dean plowed into Jamaica as a Category-4 storm Sunday after the Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller made a last-minute plea for residents to...
A photojournalist fights the wind to approach to a waterfront boulevard in downtown Kingston, during the pass of Hurricane Dean over Jamaica, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. Dean plowed into Jamaica as a Category-4...   (Associated Press)
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Related Links

Oil prices drop as Dean set to miss U.S.
Forbes

Mexico abandons oil rigs
Associated Press

 
weather • Mexico • storm • Belize • hurricane • Hurricane Dean • Yucatan Peninsula • Gulf of Mexico

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