BELIZE CITY, Belize — Hurricane Richard’s powerful wind and rain began battering Belize’s Caribbean coast Sunday, as authorities evacuated tourists from the outlying islands and an estimated 10,000 people took refuge at shelters in the tiny Central American nation.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Richard’s top winds had risen to 90 mph, and the eye-wall of the Category 1 hurricane hit land about 20 miles south of Belize City, whose neighborhoods are full of wooden, tin-roof homes that are very vulnerable to winds.
“The winds are very strong … it’s getting stronger,” said Fanny Llanos, a clerk at the Lazy Iguana bed and Breakfast on Caye Caulker, a low-lying island known for its coral reefs and crystal-clear waters, located just offshore from Belize City.
Llanos said that palm trees were bending over in the wind and it had become very noisy.
“All the windows are boarded, and this is a strong house so we will be here,” she said, “but we are still afraid.”
Richard was moving west- northwest at about 10 mph, and hurricane-force winds extended up to 15 miles from its center.
Belize City was devastated by Hurricane Hattie in 1961, prompting officials to move the capital inland to Belmopan. But Belize City is still the nation’s largest population center, with about 100,000 inhabitants — a third of the country’s population.
Official estimated that about 10,000 people had taken refuge at storm shelters.
Earlier, Richard dumped heavy rains on Honduras’ Caribbean coast and the Bay Islands.
Mexico issued a hurricane watch for its southern Caribbean coast, and while Richard is expected to cross over the Yucatan peninsula and re-emerge in the Gulf of Mexico, forecasters said it is likely to weaken and dissipate over gulf waters.
