Hurricane Nana makes landfall in Belize

The 15th storm already in the Atlantic hurricane season earlier passed over Belize

(CBC News) Hurricane Nana made landfall in Belize, pelting a relatively sparsely populated stretch of the country’s coast with heavy rain and wind before weakening to a tropical storm while pushing across Guatemala on Thursday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that Nana hit land between the coastal towns of Dangriga and Placencia shortly after midnight at an area around 80 kilometres south of Belize City with maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h, making it barely a hurricane. The storm was moving west-southwest at 24 km/h.

Later in the morning, Nana was downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds near 95 km/h. It was centred about 240 kilometres north-northeast of Guatemala City and neared the border with Mexico.

Belize authorities did not immediately report injuries when Nana made landfall shortly after midnight Thursday. More than 4,000 people, primarily in the south of the country, moved to government shelters.

Read more at: CBC News

Source: CARICOM TODAY