Belize Lashed By Strong Winds, Rain as Hurricane Earl Inches Closer

Eric Chaney and Sean Breslin
Published: August 3,2016

Hurricane Earl gained strength and began hitting parts of the Yucatan Peninsula with strong winds and heavy rainfall from its outer bands Wednesday night, well before making an expected landfall in Belize.
Residents completed preparations in Belize and Mexico Wednesday afternoon, but in Honduras, heavy rain fell for most of the day. The storm was responsible for flipping a lobster fishing boat off the Honduran coast, and 83 people were thrown overboard, according to the Associated Press. The navy said two people remained missing Wednesday evening, but the others had been rescued.
In Trujillo, a swollen river overflowed and four families had to be saved, the AP also said.
(MORE: Where We Expect Earl to Go Next)

In Belize, storm shelters were opened and residents who live in low-lying areas were urged to ride out the storm on higher ground, the report added.
"While some hurricane-force winds are possible near Earl's center of circulation, and storm surge flooding can be expected, the greater danger is likely to be from rainfall flooding," said weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "Tropical cyclones moving inland over Central America are notorious for deadly, destructive flash flooding and mudslides, due to heavy rainfall over mountainous terrain. That may be the greatest impact or legacy of Earl."

Belize Hunkers Down

Belize City's airport was ordered closed, as were the country's national parks, according to the AP. Cruise ship calls were also canceled for this week, the Belize Tourism Board told the AP.
As preparations were rushed to completion, residents scrambled to fill gas tanks and buy water and food Wednesday, the report added.

"The main aspects of the operations, in terms of movement of people from the cays, that operation so far went well," Maj. Shelton DeFour, national coordinator of Belize's National Emergency Management Organization in Belmopan, told the AP. "People must take necessary precautions. Shelters are opening, search and rescue personnel on standby, and we have deployed most of the public officers in the hotspots, particularly Belize City."

Deaths in the Dominican Republic

The six deaths and 12 injuries in the Dominican Republic occurred Sunday aboard a bus filled with people returning from a beach excursion near the town of Nagua in the northeastern part of the country, the AP said. The storm brought power lines down onto the bus, sparking a deadly fire, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Diego Pesqueira said in the report.

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Delvis Santos @DelvisSantosTV

6 muerto y 12 heridos hasta el momento tras caída de un cable de alta tensión sobre bús en Nagua. @rcavada.

6:20 PM - 31 Jul 2016 · Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic

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Not far from Nagua, three bodies were recovered and four others remained missing after a tour boat overturned Sunday off the Samana Peninsula, the AP also reported. The cause of the incident has yet to be determined, military spokesman Arsenio Maldonado told the AP, but there was a small craft advisory due to the storm at the time the boat flipped.
(MORE: 4 Things to Know About Hurricane Earl)
Several Caribbean cruises have also been impacted by the storm. According to Cruise Critic, Earl has forced changes of itinerary for Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, as well as Norwegian Cruise Line's Escape.