CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) – Hurricane Paula dumped rain on the Caribbean resort of Cancun yesterday as it moved away from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula toward western Cuba.
Paula, a “small but strong” Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, appeared to have spared dozens of hotels lining the white sand beaches of Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Tourists and residents were evacuated from tourist islands on Tuesday as a safety precaution.
“There’s a drizzle outside right now. We were never on high alert, although some precautions, like emptying the pools, were taken,” Karla Arroyo, an employee at Cancun’s Fiesta Americana Condesa Hotel, told Reuters.
Paula packed maximum sustained winds near 100 mph (160 kph) and was located 55 miles (90 km) east of Cancun and 70 miles (115 km) off the western tip of Cuba at 7 am CDT (1200 GMT), the US National Hurricane Center said. The Miami-based center said a hurricane warning for one of Mexico’s main tourist areas would likely be lifted yesterday.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or widespread damage in or around Cancun.
Cuba may receive more of a direct hit than Mexico did.
“On this track, the small core of Hurricane Paula will continue to move over the Yucatan channel today and be near or over western Cuba by tonight or early Thursday,” the Miami-based center added.
Paula is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) over portions of western and central Cuba, with isolated maximum amounts of 10 inches (25 cm) possible.
Western Cuba also could be hit with a storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves, the center said.
Around 2,500 people were evacuated from the tiny island of Holbox on Tuesday, where tourists flock to catch sight of birds and rare whale sharks.
The storm did not affect any of Mexico’s main offshore oil-producing region in the Gulf of Mexico. Paula also spared Central America’s coffee-growing region, which has been battered this year by heavy rains.
