Felix's Five Threatens Central America

Hurricane Felix has become a category five hurricane and threatens the heart of Central America. From the Times:

Felix was packing winds of up to 165 mph as it headed west, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was projected to skirt Honduras' coastline on Tuesday before slamming into Belize on Wednesday.

''As it stands, we're still thinking that it will be a potentially catastrophic system in the early portions of this week, Tuesday evening, possibly affecting Honduras and then toward the coast of Belize,'' said Dave Roberts, a hurricane specialist at the center in Miami.

Honduras issued a hurricane warning for parts of the country, including sections of the border with Nicaragua, and a hurricane watch remained in effect for other areas and one was issued for parts of the Honduras-Guatemala border. Along the northern coastline, hoteliers said, tourists were still lounging by the pool and enjoying the sun.

In Belize, residents stocked up on water and food, and nailed boards over windows to protect against the hurricane's howling winds. Many who lived in low-lying areas were seeking higher ground.

At 5 a.m. EDT Monday, Felix was centered about 275 miles south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and 490 miles east of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua-Honduras border. It was heading west at about 21 mph, the hurricane center said.

On Sunday, Felix toppled trees and flooded some homes on the Dutch islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire in the southern Caribbean. Heavy rains and winds caused scattered power outages and forced thousands of tourists to take refuge in hotels, but residents expressed relief it did far less damage than feared as the storm's outer bands grazed the tiny islands.