Tropische Storm Earl trekt richting Belize en Mexico

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seleznevartemi2 twitterde op donderdag 04-08-2016 om 09:31:52 ˇIM-PRE-SIO-NAN-TE! Vea los efectos del #Huracán #Earl sobre #PlayaDelCarmen #QuintanaRoo este miércoles. GIF: https://t.co/31F3b7Ivgk reageer retweet

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Earl drenches Belize and Guatemala
Tropical Storm Earl pushed over Mexico’s southern Gulf coast early Friday after drenching Belize and northern Guatemala.

Earlier forecasts had Earl weakening into a tropical depression overnight but new predictions late Thursday night had it maintaining its strength as a weak tropical storm through most of Friday.

Mexico’s government issued a tropical storm warning for its southern Gulf coast from Ciudad del Carmen westward to Laguna Verde.

Earl slammed into the coast of the Caribbean nation of Belize early Thursday morning with winds of 80 mph (130 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

The Center said the storm could leave 8 to 12 inches (up to 30 centimeters) of rain over parts of Belize, Guatemala and southern Mexico. Isolated areas could receive as much as 18 inches (45 centimeters), causing flooding and mudslides.

Much of Belize was without electricity on Thursday as residents began assessing the damage. Around the capital, some roofs were torn off, power lines were down and trees were uprooted.

The country’s emergency management agency issued a statement declaring the “all clear” on the storm, but warned people near rivers to head to higher ground. It said all of the country’s dams were at flood stage.

The statement said there was major infrastructure damage in the offshore cayes, as well as in Belize City and Belmopan. It expected the international airport in Belize City to reopen Thursday.

Late Thursday night, Earl was centered about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south-southeast of Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico and was moving west-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph). It has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph).

Authorities in the Mexican coastal state of Quintana Roo reported some evacuations. Some people evacuated low-lying coastal areas in nearby Guatemala.

The hurricane center said heavy rains would be a danger in southern Mexico through Saturday as Earl crosses the Yucatan Peninsula into the states of Tabasco and Veracruz.

In Belize, the government opened storm shelters and used radio and television broadcasts to urge residents of low-lying areas to move to higher ground. Officials also ordered the international airport in Belize City to close.

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Het dodental als gevolg van de storm die de oostkust van Mexico teisterde, is opgelopen tot 38. De storm van zaterdag (lokale tijd) zorgde voor aardverschuivingen als gevolg van hevige regenval. Door het noodweer, stortten huizen in. 28 mensen uit de staat Puebla werden gedood, ze woonden vlakbij het stadje Huauchinango in de bergen. In dat gebied is de verwoesting het ergste. Tien andere doden kwamen uit de staat Veracruz, aldus het nationale hoofd van de nooddienst. Het dodental kan nog stijgen.

Het waterpeil in de rivieren staat erg hoog, wat de overheid zorgen baart.

De westkust van Mexico kreeg zondag nog een andere storm te verwerken. Javier bereikte windsnelheden van 75 kilometer per uur. De storm trekt richting Neder-Californië, een groot schiereiland aan de westkust van Noord-Amerika.

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Mexico's 2nd Highest Death Toll From an Atlantic Storm Since 1988: 45 Killed in Earl

Hurricane Earl, reinvigorated to a strong tropical storm with 60 mph winds as it passed over the southernmost portion of Mexico's Bay of Campeche on Friday, August 5, dropped torrential rains in excess of twelve inches over the coastal mountains of Mexico east of Mexico City over the weekend, unleashing flash floods and mudslides that are being blamed for 45 deaths in Mexico. This is an unusually high death toll for Mexico, which prides itself on its excellent civil defense efforts that usually keep hurricane death tolls quite low. According to EM-DAT, the international disaster database, the last Atlantic hurricane to exact a higher death toll than Earl in Mexico was Hurricane Gilbert of 1988, which hit Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 5 storm, killing 240 people in the nation. The National Hurricane Center, though, gives HUrricane Stan of 2005 a death toll of 80 in Mexico. There have been three Pacific hurricanes since 1988 to have higher death tolls in Mexico--Hurricane Manuel of 2013 (169 killed), Hurricane Pauline of 1997 (220 killed), and Hurricane Ismael of 1995 (105 killed.) Earl made landfall near Belize City, Belize at 2 am EDT Thursday, August 4, 2016 as a Category 1 storm with 80 mph winds, causing over $100 million in damage to agriculture in Belize. Infrastructure in the capital, Belize City, experienced additional heavy damage from Earl's storm surge and winds. Earl also killed thirteen people in the Dominican Republic when the storm was still classified as a tropical wave. Given the high death toll in Mexico and extensive damage in Belize, it is quite possible the name Earl will be retired from the active list of hurricane names next year.