Powerful Hurricane Felix nears landfall on Central American coast

SAN PEDRO SULA – Hurricane Felix was about to make landfall and could reach Category 5 status before it slams into an area near the Honduras-Nicaragua border, forecasters said.

Felix’s top winds are near 249 kph, just short of being a Category 5, which has the potential to cause catastrophic damage, the US National Hurricane Centre said. It was expected to make landfall by about 12h30 GMT, said Michelle Mainelli, a hurricane specialist at the centre.Henriette, meanwhile, strengthened into a hurricane off Mexico’s coast.Felix threatens to devastate a swampy coastline home to thousands of Miskito Indians.Tourists fled island resorts by plane or helicopter as the storm roared toward land.In the final hours before the Category 4 storm was to make landfall, Grupo Taca Airlines frantically airlifted tourists from the Honduran island of Roatan, popular for its pristine reefs and diving resorts.About 1 000 people were taken off the island, including 19 Americans evacuated by a US Chinook helicopters sent from the Soto Cano Air Base on mainland Honduras.Another 1 000 people were removed from low-lying coastal areas and smaller islands.Bob Shearer, 54, from Butler, Pennsylvania, said he was disappointed his family’s scuba diving trip to Roatan was cut short by the evacuation order.”I only got seven dives in.I hope they didn’t jump the gun too soon,” he said as he waited for a flight home in the San Pedro Sula airport.Felix prepared to make landfall along the Miskito Coast early Tuesday.From there, it was projected to rake northern Honduras, slam into southern Belize on Wednesday and then cut across northern Guatemala and southern Mexico, well south of Texas.Nampa-APIt was expected to make landfall by about 12h30 GMT, said Michelle Mainelli, a hurricane specialist at the centre.Henriette, meanwhile, strengthened into a hurricane off Mexico’s coast.Felix threatens to devastate a swampy coastline home to thousands of Miskito Indians.Tourists fled island resorts by plane or helicopter as the storm roared toward land.In the final hours before the Category 4 storm was to make landfall, Grupo Taca Airlines frantically airlifted tourists from the Honduran island of Roatan, popular for its pristine reefs and diving resorts.About 1 000 people were taken off the island, including 19 Americans evacuated by a US Chinook helicopters sent from the Soto Cano Air Base on mainland Honduras.Another 1 000 people were removed from low-lying coastal areas and smaller islands.Bob Shearer, 54, from Butler, Pennsylvania, said he was disappointed his family’s scuba diving trip to Roatan was cut short by the evacuation order.”I only got seven dives in.I hope they didn’t jump the gun too soon,” he said as he waited for a flight home in the San Pedro Sula airport.Felix prepared to make landfall along the Miskito Coast early Tuesday.From there, it was projected to rake northern Honduras, slam into southern Belize on Wednesday and then cut across northern Guatemala and southern Mexico, well south of Texas.Nampa-AP