Mexico evacuations begin as Wilma closes in
Mexico has begun evacuations on Wednesday of high risk areas of the Yucatan peninsula, a major tourist draw, as powerful Hurricane Wilma churned closer.
The island of Mujeres close to the holiday resort of Cancun, was believed to be one of the most at risk of being targeted by Wilma, the most powerful storm recorded in the Atlantic.
“Some of the computer models are showing it getting closer and closer to the peninsula, and we may be facing a potential landfall in some areas of the northeast of the Yucatan, in the area of Isla Mujeres,” civil defence coordinator Carmen Segura told Formato 21 radio.
More: int.iol.co.za
UPDATE 4-Hurricane Wilma aims at Florida after Mexico chaos
Hurricane Wilma thundered toward Florida on Sunday after devastating Mexico's Caribbean resorts with floodwaters and wild winds that smashed thousands of homes and killed at least seven people.
While residents of the Florida Keys hunkered down for battering winds and a powerful surge of floodwaters, dazed tourists waded through knee-deep water in the streets of Mexico's beach resort Cancun to seek food and water after three nights in damp shelters without electricity.
At one point the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, Wilma weakened as it hammered Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
Ernesto prompts evacuations in Gulf of Mexico
Hurricane Ernesto threatened Haiti with deadly floods and prompted evacuations in Florida and Cuba on Sunday as it headed for the Gulf of Mexico a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
Residents of the battered United States Gulf coast jazz city were breathing more easily as the Atlantic seasons first hurricane took a path that left Louisiana outside the danger zone but raised alarms in Florida, weary from eight hurricanes in the last two years.
Cuba, facing its first hurricane in decades without President Fidel Castro at the helm, began evacuating 200 000 people from
Wilma slams Mexico, threatens Florida
In the early afternoon on Friday, Oct. 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma was moving slowly northwest with the eye 35 miles off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. The Category 4 hurricane is currently packing 145 mph winds with higher-speed gusts. Wilma is expected to turn northeast toward southern Florida while dropping as much as 40 inches of rain in parts of Cuba along the way.
With Wilma, the Atlantic Ocean's 21st named storm this year, the 2005 season has tied the record for the most named storms in a year. Pressure readings on
Six dead as Wilma pounds Mexico
At least six people have died as Hurricane Wilma continues to pound the coast of Mexico.
The storm has flooded the resort of Cancun, cutting off roads, flattening homes and leaving much of the area without electricity.
Tens of thousands of people are now sheltering in overcrowded schools and gymnasiums in the area.
Weather forecasters say Wilma has weakened, but might get stronger again as it slowly heads towards Florida.
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On Saturday officials on the Florida Keys ordered 80,000 people to evacuate the islands before the storm
Hurricane Wilma Scrubs Mexico's MTV Awards
Hurricane Wilma Forces MTV to Postpone Latin American Music Awards; New Date Not Set
The approach of Hurricane Wilma has forced MTV to postpone its Latin American music video awards ceremony, which had been scheduled for Mexico's Playa del Carmen resort.
Dulce Gordillo, MTV's Mexico spokeswoman, confirmed the postponement and said a new date for the show hadn't been set.
The cable network had shifted the program from Thursday to Wednesday to avoid the hurricane, which was forecast to pass close by Mexico's Caribbean coast Friday.
More: abcnews.go.com
In the early afternoon on Friday, Oct. 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma was moving slowly northwest with the eye 35 miles off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. The Category 4 hurricane is currently packing 145 mph winds with higher-speed gusts. Wilma is expected to turn northeast toward southern Florida while dropping as much as 40 inches of rain in parts of Cuba along the way.
With Wilma, the Atlantic Ocean's 21st named storm this year, the 2005 season has tied the record for the most named storms in a year. Pressure readings on Wednesday broke the record
Fog closes Mexico City airport, disrupting 71 flights
A blanket of fog closed Mexico City's airport for several hours early Monday, disrupting 71 international and domestic flights during the travel industry's busiest season, the airport spokesman said.
Authorities shut down the airport from 5:10 a.m. until 8:32 a.m., said Jose Luis Uribe, airport spokesman.
Officials canceled seven domestic flights and diverted 11 domestic flights to airports in Acapulco, Guadalajara and Morelia to wait until the airport reopened.
"This is the season for blankets of fog," Uribe said. "But because it is also vacation time, it's a problem."
Soure: signonsandiego.com
TUI cancels trips to Mexico due to Hurricane Wilma, 300 customers affected
TUI AG said it has cancelled all trips to Yucatan, Mexico, until Oct 25 on account of Hurricane Wilma, affecting 300 customers.
It said it will try to offer its customers alternative destinations.
The tour operator currently has around 1,000 guests in Mexico, who will be transported back to Germany as soon as weather conditions allow.
Source: forbes.com
Hurricane Wilma heads for Gulf of Mexico
Hurricane Wilma strengthened in the Caribbean Tuesday and headed toward the Gulf of Mexico, where it seemed likely to spare battered U.S. oil and gas fields but threatened storm-weary Florida.
The rapidly intensifying storm also menaced Honduras and Nicaragua with up to 10 inches of rain, compounding the woes of Central America. More than 1,000 people in Guatemala and El Salvador were killed by landslides and floods triggered by Hurricane Stan this month.
Wilma was expected to strengthen into a major hurricane with winds of more than 110 mph by Thursday and its likely
Wilma may become hurricane, heads for Gulf of Mexico
Four of seven major weather models predict Tropical Storm Wilma, which could become a hurricane by Tuesday, will head for the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Earlier Monday morning, most of the models forecast the storm would crash into the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico or Belize later this week.
By late morning, most of the forecasts showed the storm would turn north toward western Cuba and Florida's Gulf Coast.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center still forecast the storm would graze the northeastern tip of the Yucatan and enter the Gulf of Mexico where it could
