Ernesto becomes hurricane ahead of Yucatan landfall

CANCUN, Mexico?? Tropical Storm Ernesto was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday as it doused Honduras and Belize, and forecasters expected it to hit the southern Yucatan peninsula later in the evening as a hurricane.

Authorities from the Mexican state of Quintana Roo have ordered the evacuation of some 1,500 people in the southern portion of the state, known for its scuba diving and eco-tourism attractions.

While the eye of Ernesto is not expected to hit the region's major resort of Cancun, some rain has started to fall in the area, which is packed with local and international visitors this time of the year.

Cancun, some 230 miles to the north of the storm's forecast path, was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Wilma, the most intense storm ever recorded in the Atlantic.

The second hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic season, Ernesto had top sustained winds of 80 miles per hour and was located 185 miles east of Chetumal, Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. ET advisory.

"Ernesto (is) expected to make landfall on the Yucatan peninsula tonight," the NHC said.

Hurricane warnings were extended northward to Tulum on the east side of the Yucatan peninsula, as well as for the island of Cozumel. The entire coast of low-lying Belize was also under a hurricane warning.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Atlantic coast of Honduras and Nicaragua.

Tropical storm warnings were also issued for the area from Tulum to Cabo Catoche.

One cruise ship that was due to dock at the resort island of Cozumel on Wednesday had canceled its visit and another was diverted to Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Heavy rain hit northern Honduras early Tuesday but there were no reports of damage.

Big ships were conducting business as usual on Honduras' main Atlantic ports although authorities restricted fishing for small boats.

Forecasters expect Ernesto to move into the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico by Wednesday afternoon or evening, but it was too early to know if it could disrupt oil and gas operations in the gulf.

Rainfall of four to eight inches, and possibly 12 inches in some areas, were expected over Belize and the southern portions of the Yucatan peninsula.

"These rains are likely to cause dangerous flash floods and mudslides over higher terrain," the NHC said.

Belize's government said 175 residents of outlying islands had voluntarily moved to safer ground, and five emergency shelters were being set up to house evacuees.

Honduran authorities were monitoring the storm but there were no immediate plans to evacuate people, Roberto Diaz, operations chief of the country's Contingencies Commission, said Monday night.

"We don't think is necessary to evacuate people at this point," Diaz said. "We don't want to create collective panic ... and we think that ordering an evacuation would create hysteria that would affect the population more than the storm itself."

Authorities sent enough food packages to the sparsely populated area to feed 600 families for two weeks, Diaz said.

Contingencies Commission director Lisandro Rosales said the panel was urging men in the region expected to be most affected to stay alert throughout the night in case of flooding.

"The river flows are still low, so we don't expect any problems," Rosales said.

Rain began falling Monday night and the region between Cabo Gracias a Dios and the city of Trujillo already had received about one inch of rain, Diaz said.

Officials in Nicaragua evacuated hundreds of people living along the coast and near the border with Honduras, Guillermo Gonzalez, who is in charge of the country's emergency services, told local television.

"The scope of action will include a big chunk of the northern Caribbean coast, specifically the area between Cabo Gracias a Dios, the Misquito Cays, Puerto Cabezas and Waspam," Gonzalez said.

In Mexico's southern state of Tabasco, authorities warned people of possible floods in the mountains near the state of Chiapas.

In the past, swollen rivers have swept away houses, livestock and people and set off landslides in the area. In a landslide last year, 31 people were buried in the Chiapas town of Juan del Grijalva.

Tabasco authorities also were taking preventive measures along the state's Gulf of Mexico coast, Civil Protection director Roberto Lopez said. He said authorities were recommending residents stay indoors and listen for emergency announcements issued by authorities.

Tabasco is a low-lying state that often floods. In 2007, heavy rains caused widespread flooding that left 1 million homes underwater and killed 33 people.

Far out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Florence weakened to a tropical depression Monday and then dissipated, the hurricane center said.

August and September are usually the most active months of the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Chris was the first hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic season, but it lasted just a few hours on June 21 and never made landfall as it spun far off the East Coast.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48547729/ns/weather/

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