Tropical Storm Harvey to become hurricane

TEGUCIGALPA: Central American emergency services were on alert early Saturday as Tropical Storm Harvey -- now forecast to turn into a full-fledged hurricane -- barrelled across the Caribbean gathering strength.

At 0000 GMT, Harvey had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles (95 kilometres) per hour -- up from 45 miles just a few hours earlier.

It was moving westward at nine miles per hour, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre said.

Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico issued tropical storm warnings, while Nicaragua also braced for heavy rainfall.

The NHC said hurricane-force winds were expected over the Bay Islands before reaching the coast of Belize and the southeastern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico Saturday.

"Additional strengthening is expected and Harvey is now forecast to become a hurricane before reaching the coast of Belize," the center warned.

Strong winds were also possible along the northern coast of Honduras and along Guatemala's northern coast.

Harvey was expected to produce between three and five inches (8-13 centimetres) of rainfall accumulations across Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula, with up to eight inches (20 centimetres) in some areas.

"These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially over higher terrain," the NHC said.

In Honduras, emergency services raised their alert from green to yellow for 72 hours in the Caribbean departments of Gracias a Dios, Colon, Atlantida, Cortes and the Bay Islands.

Guatemala's disaster reduction coordinator declared an orange alert over the storm, while Nicaragua was "paying close attention" to the weather pattern.

Stormy weather killed hundreds of people last year in Central America, a region highly vulnerable to weather disaster due to its rugged terrain and poor infrastructure.

Over 50,000 people have died over the past four decades from natural disasters that have also caused billions of dollars in damages in the region, which the United Nations considers among those parts of the world most vulnerable to climate change.

In Guatemala alone, heavy rains left 174 people dead and over $1 billion in damages last year, while landslides in Costa Rica killed 24 people and caused $330 million in damage.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011