Richard Weakens after Battering Belize
Updated at 11:27 a.m. Eastern.
Tropical Storm Richard has weakened to a tropical depression after battering the tiny Central American country of Belize as a hurricane.
Richard's maximum sustained winds had decreased to near 35 mph Monday with additional weakening expected.
The depression is located about 145 miles south of Campeche, Mexico, and is moving west-northwest near 8 mph The depression's center is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday morning.
An estimated 10,000 people in Belize took refuge at storm shelters in schools and churches ahead of the arrival of Richard, which made landfall as a hurricane late Sunday about 20 miles south-southwest of Belize City.
After the hurricane hit land, there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, but roads and some low-lying neighborhoods were flooded around the area of impact.
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.
Tourists had already been evacuated from Caye Caulker and nearby Ambergris Caye, but some local residents decided to ride out the storm.
"We got all the tourists out, and get the whole place secured down," said Rafael Marin, the caretaker at the Anchorage Resort hotel.
But Marin said he expected only some beach erosion and minor damage to homes, noting the island has been hit by more powerful storms in the past.
"The local people are advised to evacuate on their own, voluntarily," Marin said. "It's not really major, like a Category 3" hurricane.
Officials warned people living in flimsy homes or low-lying areas to evacuate, and shelters at schools and other public buildings began filling up.
Earlier, Richard dumped heavy rains on Honduras' Caribbean coast and the Bay Islands, including Roatan, which is popular with tourists and divers.
Observers reported winds of up to 58 mph on Roatan, and more than 90 people took refuge in shelters in the Bay Islands, which lie between Honduras and Belize.
Lisandro Rosales, the head of Honduras' Permanent Emergency Commission, said no deaths or injuries had been reported in Honduras.
But Richard's heavy rains did cause a landslide that blocked a highway in northern Colon province, cutting off about 15,000 residents in 40 small towns. Crews were working to clear the road.