Hurricane Dean Slammed the Caribbean Coast

Hurricane Dean Slammed the Caribbean Coast



Aug. 2007  - The Category 5 behemoth, 
Hurricane Dean slammed into the Caribbean coast, lashing beach
 resorts on the Yucatan Peninsula, where tourists 
who failed to get a plane ticket out of the area are huddled in shelters. 
Category 5 is the strongest class of hurricane and can do massive damage. 
Reports from a U.S. Air Force hurricane hunter plane indicate that the eye 
of Dean made landfall near the cruise ship port of Costa Maya or Majahual 
around 3:30 this morning CDT. The hurricane was intensifying right up to 
the moment of impact. 

The "potentially catastrophic" hurricane could cause storm surge flooding 
and high tides of "12 to 18 feet above normal tide levels along with large 
and dangerous battering waves" at Costa Maya and to the north, said the 
U.S. National Weather Service. 
Mexico evacuated resorts and oil rigs as the killer storm whipped up 
maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour with higher gusts, said the 
Miami-based National Hurricane Center. 
Police ordered vehicles off the road and shop owners boarded up their 
windows along the Mayan Riviara, a strip of beach resorts that has still 
not completely recovered from the devastation of Hurricane Wilma in 2005. 
The strongest Atlantic storm on record, Wilma wrecked Cancun and other 
beach resorts, washing whole beaches out to sea. 
A hurricane warning is currently in effect for the entire coast of Belize 
and along the Yucatan coast of Mexico from Belize north to Cancun. 
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says that while some weakening is 
forecast as Dean crosses the Yucatan Peninsula, Dean is expected to 
maintain hurricane strength through the next 24 hours. 
In Texas, Governor Rick Perry Monday advised Texans to keep a wary eye on 
Hurricane Dean. Although it made landfall in Mexico, this potentially 
catastrophic storm could result in flooding and tornado activity in South 
Texas. 
"Texans can be confident that we have activated the resources necessary to 
handle whatever Dean throws at us," Perry said at a briefing, where he was 
joined by Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw and Jack Colley, chief 
of the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management.

"Now is the time for Texans to make sure they are prepared. Coastal and 
South Texas residents need to keep a close eye on weather reports, fill up 
their gas tanks, and make sure they have their medications, plenty of 
water and non-perishable foods on hand." 
Texas officials evacuated three jails in advance of the hurricane, one in 
Raymondville and two in Edinburg. The move affected 3,320 inmates and was 
completed without incident, criminal justice officials said. 
Hurricane Dean grazed Jamaica Sunday on its way westward across the 
Caribbean. Two people lost their lives in hurricane related incidents 
there, and the power was knocked out across the island nation. 
The State of Public Emergency declared Sunday by Governor-General 
Professor Kenneth Hall on the advice of Prime Minister Portia Simpson 
Miller might be over quickly if electricity is restored before the end of 
the week, the prime minister said Monday. 
Complaints that security forces had taken advantage of the darkness and 
confusion to abuse Jamaican residents were taken seriously by Prime 
Minister Miller. Speaking Monday at a press briefing at Jamaica House, 
Miller told journalists that her decision to declare an emergency was 
intended to protect human rights, in particular "the right to life." 
The hurricane caused damage on other Caribbean islands, toppling trees 
onto roads and damaging homes and businesses on Martinique and the 
Dominican Republic. 

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