Coastal areas prepare for Hurricane Rina

Coastal areas of the western Caribbean Sea prepared for Hurricane Rina, which could strengthen to a Category 3 Hurricane sometime Wednesday, forecasters said. Rina, a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, was about 235 miles south-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and about 215 miles east-southeast of Chetumal, Mexico, the center said in its 5 a.m. EDT advisory. It was moving west at 5 mph. In Mexico, the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun was under a hurricane warning. A tropical storm warning was in effect for the peninsula's east coast from Chetumal to Punta Gruesa. Tropical storm watches were in effect for the coast of Belize from Belize City north, and the Honduran Bay islands of Roatan and Guanaja. Rina was expected to gradually turn to the northwest with a slight increase in forward speed later Wednesday, followed by a turn to the north by late Thursday, forecasters said. On its forecast track, Rina's center will move near or over the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula Thursday. Rina has the potential to become a major hurricane sometime Wednesday, the hurricane center said, and likely would weaken as it nears or moves over the peninsula. The storm is expected to produce 8- to 16 inches of rain over the eastern Yucatan peninsula and Cozumel through Friday. A dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by 5-7 feet above normal tide levels along the coast near and to the right of the center's track, the center said. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large, destructive waves. Residents and travelers in the popular Mexican resort city of Cancun stocked up on supplies or tried to make plans to leave before the storm hits, CNN reported. U.S. officials issued a travel alert, advising Americans in the area to prepare for the possibility of a hurricane. "We wanted to get out of there," Kathy Davis, an American with a timeshare in Cancun, told CNN while waiting at the airport for a flight. "We were on vacation and just didn't want to be stressed." Kelly McLaughlin, a Canadian who has lived in Cancun for eight years, said preparing for storms is routine since Hurricane Wilma ravaged the area in 2005. "I'm just checking everything to make sure there's nothing loose," McLaughlin said.