Hurricane Lisa continued to strengthen Wednesday morning, reaching sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kilometers per hour), as it approaches the coast of Belize, where it will make landfall in the next few hours. Meteorologists predict that the cyclone will rapidly weaken as the center of Lisa moves inland.
Lisa, the fifth hurricane of the Atlantic season, was located 55 miles (90 km) east-southeast of Belize City.
The meteor slowed down to 22 kilometers per hour (14 mph), according to the latest report from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The Honduran government changed the hurricane warning to a tropical storm warning for the Bay Islands, and discontinued the same warning for the northern coast, east of Punta Castilla.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for the entire coast of Belize and from Chetumal to Puerto Costa Maya in Mexico. The tropical storm warning also remains for the north of the Guatemalan coast and from Puerto Costa Maya to Punta Allen in Mexico.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for the Bay Islands in Honduras, the entire coast of Belize, and Chetumal to Puerto Costa Maya in Mexico. While a tropical storm warning is in effect for the entire north coast of Honduras, north of the Guatemalan coast and from Puerto Costa Maya to Punta Allen in Mexico.
“Preparations to protect life and property must be completed in a hurry,” the NHC bulletin reads, referring to places under a hurricane watch.
On the forecast track, the center of Lisa will move just north of the Honduran Bay Islands on Wednesday morning, make landfall in Belize later in the day, and then cross northern Guatemala and move southeast of Mexico to Thursday.
The Meteorological Service of Mexico reported that heavy rains with electrical discharges related to the effects of Hurricane Lisa will begin to be felt in the next few hours. There, winds with gusts of 50 to 70 kilometers per hour and 2 to 3 meter high waves are anticipated on the coast of Quintana Roo, home to tourist centers such as Cancun and Playa del Carmen. In addition, the rains could cause flooding in low-lying areas and an increase in the levels of rivers and streams.
In Honduras, the Permanent Contingency Committee (COPECO), announced that the cloud bands of the cyclone will cause rains, electrical storms, gusty winds and altered waves in the north of the country. There the wind gusts could reach 120 km/h.
Meteorologists estimate that Lisa will arrive in Guatemala in the early hours of Thursday.
“This phenomenon is going to be entering from the Caribbean, touching a little land through Izabal and then directly to Guatemala,” said Wilson García, director of the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala, INSIVUMEH.
“From Wednesday or Thursday we will have a lot of winds that is due to the presence of the tropical cyclone,” he added.
For his part, the secretary of the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, CONRED, Oscar Cossío, reported that they met with governors to convey the alert notices and warn the population.
“Based on the information that INSIVUMEH has provided us, it allows us to identify 29 municipalities with a very high probability of precipitation.”
In addition, the population has been warned of the strong winds that Liza could cause and its potential consequences on buildings.
“It is also requested to review the state of the roofs of the houses because this cyclone brings a different variable, which is the winds. The population is recommended to insure their roofs, especially those who have tin roofs”, explained Cossío.
The recommendations are added to that of paying maximum attention to possible floods, subsidence and landslides caused by the intensification of rains in the coming hours.
In early October, Guatemala suffered the impact of another tropical storm, Julia, which caused flooding in areas of the north of the country and left at least 13 dead.
Julia first hit Nicaragua with hurricane force and then affected El Salvador and Guatemala.
[Con información de Eugenia Sagastume, corresponsal de VOA en Guatemala y The Associated Press]
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