Hurricane Emily roars across Yucatan

Power was knocked out all along the coast. The wind snapped concrete utility poles in two along a half-mile stretch of highway between Playa del Carmen and Cancun to the north. Plate glass windows were shattered on the ground floors of numerous businesses in Playa del Carmen, while residents waded through knee-deep water flooding some streets.

Fox visits Cozumel
President Vicente Fox visited the island of Cozumel and other affected areas, saying the hurricane “has really allowed us to put to the test the capacities of the country in terms of risk prevention.”

“I think we have demonstrated that they are very far-reaching and capable,” he added.

About 60,000 tourists were evacuated from Cancun, Tulum, Playa de Carmen and Cozumel, an island just south of Cancun known for its diving.

Emily hit Mexico after sweeping across the Caribbean, causing flooding that killed a family of four in Jamaica but sparing the Cayman Islands major damage.

Jorge Silva / Reuters Stranded tourists rest at a refuge center on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula Sunday as they wait for Hurricane Emily.

The hurricane’s wind speeds soared to as much as 135 mph, making it a fierce Category 4 storm when it slammed into the Yucatan’s east coast Sunday. It weakened to Category 2 as it passed over the peninsula early Monday with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.

Emily’s center eventually churned into the cooler waters north of the peninsula, weakening it further throughout the day. It was a Category 1 storm by evening, with sustained winds near 90 mph. Forecasters expected it to regain force and hit the northeastern Mexican coast “as a major hurricane,” as early as Tuesday night, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

A hurricane warning was in effect Monday night from south of the Mexico-Texas border to the community of La Cruz.

South Padre Island gets ready
In Texas, many tourists on South Padre Island started packing up Monday, although about 10,000 remained, officials said. A steady stream of RVs headed north from the island resort after a local judge ordered vehicles in danger of being blown over by high winds to leave county parks on the island.

Mexico’s two main crude oil loading ports in the Gulf, Dos Bocas and Cayo Arcas, were closed and Pemex evacuated its Bay of Campeche oil rigs, shutting down offshore production as the hurricane approached.

Pemex’s offshore operations in the area account for about two-thirds of the company’s 3.4 million barrels a day of crude oil production.

The company reported Sunday that one of 26 helicopters being used for the evacuation crashed while trying to land on a platform in high winds, killing the pilot and co-pilot.

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