Monday, September 3, 2007
Hurricane Felix has now been raised to a Category 5 hurricane. It has been moving through the warm Caribbean waters, and has already damaged many Dutch islands in the area. It is reported as having maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (266 km/h), and is heading upwards towards Central America.
It is expected to skirt Honduras before hitting Belize. It is predicted to cause large scale destruction in Belize and surrounding areas. It has already affected Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire. One Bonaire resident, Siomara Albertus, said “Thankfully we didn’t get a very bad storm. My dog slept peacefully through the night”.
It has already caused tens of thousands of tourists and residents to be stuck in their homes or places of residence, preparing for the worst. Many residents had installed storm shutters, and taken boats ashore, however there was very little wind damage.
It is currently moving at around 18mph (29 km/h), and is approximately 390 miles (628 km) off the coast of Jamaica.