Isidore Hammers Mexico
Powerful Hurricane Isidore drove tens of thousands of people from their homes as it raked the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday, then veered inland toward the state capital.
The storm shredded trees, knocked out power, set roofs dancing in the air and prompted the state oil company to evacuate 8,000 oil workers from drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mexican authorities closed 32 ports for small vessels along the northern and eastern coasts of the Yucatan.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the Category 3 storm could grow stronger and veer to north within a few days, putting it on a possible course for the U.S. Gulf Coast, but it cautioned, "it is still to early to be more specific about the threat."
Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are all possible next stops for the edge or all of Isidore, depending on the path it takes in the next two days.
At 11 p.m. EDT Isidore was about 20 miles southeast of Merida. It was heading southwest at about 5 mph.
Yucatan state Gov. Patricio Patron said "the worst of scenarios" was happening as Isidore marched along the state's coast with 125-mph winds, then edged slightly inland toward the capital late Sunday.
Moving southwest over land, the storm's winds weakened to about 105 mph, but forecasters said it would likely regain force if it re-emerges over water, as expected.
With many areas cut off by telephone or road, the governor told The Associated Press he had no confirmed reports of deaths and no estimate of damage. Some local radio stations earlier reported deaths from traffic accidents, but details and their relation to the storm were unclear.
The governor said some coastal residents had rejected the appeals of troops trying to enforce his mandatory evacuation order aimed at 70,000 people. Officials canceled classes Monday for 480,000 students to free classrooms for use as shelters.
The storm blasted down power lines and forced authorities to cut power in other areas because of the danger. Several television and radio stations were knocked off the air.
Winds howled over piles of branches in Merida's main plaza Sunday night as residents huddled in darkened homes, hotels and public buildings.
"I'm supposed to fly out at noon... but I'm guessing that's not going to happen," said Richard Syrop, a 22-year-old grocery manager at a health food store in Tucson, Ariz.
The state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos, announced it was evacuating more than 8,000 workers from oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as a precaution. Eight hundred others were left aboard pending developments.
Heavy waves pounded the piers and washed onto coastal boulevards in El Progreso, the peninsula's main port city, 20 miles to the north. Reporters saw light poles uprooted and hurled to the ground as their lamp fixtures continued to twirl in the winds above.
Many homes in El Progreso - a city of about 45,000 people - are knee-deep in water and the streets are filled with uprooted trees.
"It worries me to have left my house, but the life of my children is more important. Material things can be recovered," said Clara Caballero, 39, who fled El Progreso and took refuge in the Merida shelter with her husband and five children.
Hundreds of fishermen had returned to shore and secured small boats as the storm neared Progreso, said Capt. Alberto Ordaz Galindo, in charge of navigation for the port captain's office.
Isidore dumped 12 to 20 inches of rain on the sparsely populated northern coastline of the peninsula, knocking out phone and power services to small villages.
Soldiers and police in all-terrain vehicles scoured muddy roads and streets along the coast while the navy used small vessels to cruise from village to village enforcing the mandatory evacuations.
Torrential rains associated with Isidore caused flooding that killed a 16-year-old boy and an 89-year-old man on Nicaragua's Pacific Coast and authorities there bused hundreds of families to higher ground.
Hurricane warnings are in effect from Campeche on the Gulf of Mexico to the Mayan ruins of Tulum on the Caribbean.
Isidore hit western Cuba on Friday and Saturday with 100 mph winds and torrential rains. The amount of damage is unclear, but a tour of the affected region found heavy flooding across the western part of the island.
Authorities are also analyzing the damage done to citrus crops on the small Isle of Youth, south of Cuba's main island.
Isidore is the second Atlantic hurricane of the 2002 season. Gustav, which dwindled out in the north Atlantic earlier this month, was the first hurricane of the season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.