Hurricane Iris Headed for Belize
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Hurricane Iris strengthened into the Atlantic's most powerful hurricane of the year as it advanced across the Caribbean toward Central America on Monday, bringing winds of up to 140 mph.
In Belize, soldiers were going house to house trying to evacuate nearly all of the 65,000 residents of coastal Belize City, where officials expected flooding from storm surges as high as 18 feet.
``We are expecting it to hit very hard,'' said Arreini Palacio, a government spokeswoman. ``We are in a state of emergency.''
The storm brushed past Jamaica on Sunday with 85 mph winds that toppled some trees, tore off roofs and left at least one person injured. Three people were killed on Saturday when the hurricane passed the Dominican Republic.
The storm strengthened dramatically as it moved over open water. The hurricane's winds were expected in Belize, Guatemala and northern Honduras on Monday night.
``This is an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane,'' said Richard Knabb, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. ``This is going to cause extensive damage wherever it makes landfall.''
The second-strongest hurricane of the Atlantic season, Erin, had winds that reached 120 mph in September. It sideswiped Bermuda before dissipating in the Atlantic.
A Category 4 hurricane like Iris has winds between 131 mph and 155 mph. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 was a Category 5 hurricane, with winds greater than 155 mph. When it struck Honduras, Mitch left 5,657 dead, more than 8,000 missing, 12,000 injured and $6.5 billion in damages.
Iris was expected to bring a storm surge of 13-18 feet above normal tide levels and large battering waves. Forecasters said rainfall of 5-8 inches could cause flash floods and mudslides.
``I'm glad we got out of it,'' Jamaican store owner Vivia Clarke said after the hurricane passed south of Jamaica on Sunday.
At 11 a.m. EDT, Iris was about 225 miles east of Belize City. The hurricane was moving westward at about 20 mph.
Hurricane-force winds extended 15 miles from the center, making it a particularly compact hurricane, forecasters said.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras from its border with Guatemala eastward to Limon.
In Mexico, the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Cabo Catoche southward was under a hurricane watch. Mexico also issued a tropical storm warning for the east coast of the Yucatan from Felipe Carrillo Puerto southward to the border with Belize.
On Saturday, Iris killed a mother and her two young daughters in the Dominican Republic when a retaining wall collapsed, crushing their house.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Jerry was following in the path of Iris Sunday with winds of about 50 mph. The storm brought rain to St. Vincent and the Grenadines as it passed during the night.
The storm was forecast to become a hurricane, with sustained winds of 74 mph or greater, as it continued on a path roughly toward Jamaica, Knabb said. He said it was too early to say which islands might be threatened.
``Anyone in the northern Caribbean Sea ought to be watching this one,'' he said.
As of 11 a.m. EDT, Jerry was about 285 miles south-southeast of Puerto Rico. It was moving toward the west-northwest at about 16 mph.
Originally published October 08, 2001.
