Hurricane Delta hit the Caribbean coast of Mexico on Wednesday.
Cancun:
Hurricane Delta picked up steam as it headed for the United States early Thursday after hitting Mexico’s Caribbean coast, where some tourists complained of conditions in overcrowded emergency shelters during a pandemic.
There were widespread power outages after Delta crashed in the Yucatan Peninsula in southeastern Mexico as a Category 2 storm, knocking down trees and cutting down power lines.
The area appears to have escaped major destruction and no fatalities were reported as the storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico, where it fell to Category 1 as it headed for the US Gulf of Mexico coast. , before regaining its category 2 status.
In an update at 06:00 GMT Thursday, the United States’ National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Delta was packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour and was moving at around 17 mph (28 km / h) about 485 miles (780 km) offshore. the coast of Louisiana.
Earlier high winds lashed Cancun, one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations, where cars were hit by fallen trees, traffic signs were knocked over and shops were damaged, according to reports. AFP journalists.
“Not secure”
Thousands of tourists crouched in emergency shelters along the Riviera Maya coast as the storm blew, raising concerns about the risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
“They took us to an abandoned building, no heating, no air conditioning, no fans, no ventilation at all,” said Nick Fifis, a 42-year-old American tourist.
“The staff are trying to help everyone, but there is a mess. No masks, no social distancing. It’s just not safe,” he said.
Mandy Sears, however, said she was just happy to be out of harm’s way by the storm.
“Were we comfortable? No, but we were safe. Our experience was not great, it was miserable. But it’s a disaster. We knew we were coming during hurricane season,” said the 47-year-old American player. States.
Delta was downgraded to “extremely dangerous” Category 4 as it approached the peninsula, but is expected to become a major hurricane again as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico, the NHC said.
The storm is expected to approach the northern Gulf Coast of the United States on Friday, where a hurricane watch was issued for an area stretching from High Island, Texas to Grand Isle, Louisiana, he said. he declares.
A “life-threatening storm surge and destructive winds” are increasingly likely along parts of the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, he added.
Deployed soldiers
At least 6,500 troops have been deployed to the area to assist affected communities, authorities reported.
Troops were seen removing tree branches and other debris, while residents used machetes to clear the roads.
More than 40,000 Mexican tourists in Cancun and neighboring resorts were evacuated as the hurricane approached, the head of the region’s hotel association, Roberto Citron, told AFP.
In Cancun alone, more than 160 shelters have been created.
Authorities said emergency shelters had been disinfected and masks were being used to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 81,000 people in Mexico and led to a sharp drop in the number of visitors.
But some tourists have said it isn’t.
“No one is wearing a mask, (everyone is) lying on the floor, there is no air conditioning, no fans, there is no air circulation,” said Janet, an American. 67-year-old who refused to give his last name.
Delta is the 26th named storm of an unusually active hurricane season in the Atlantic.
Over the weekend, six people died and thousands were forced from their homes when Tropical Storm Gamma triggered flooding and landslides in southeastern Mexico.
In September, meteorologists were forced out of the Greek alphabet to name Atlantic storms for only the second time, after the 2020 hurricane season surpassed their usual list, ending with Tropical Storm Wilfred.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
