After the hurricane passes through across Belize it is expected to go through a northern rural part of Guatemala and from there into south-eastern Mexico.
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There was a tropical storm warning for much of the Honduran coast.
Some flights from Mexico City to the Mexican seaside resort of Chetumal were canceled because of Earl, which smashed auto windows in Belize City, downed trees and sparked flooding in parts of the coastline after moving inland.
The National Hurricane Center’s plane flew into the storm and reported sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, just over the threshold to be declared a Category 1 hurricane.
As it moves west, Earl was expected to weaken to a tropical depression later Thursday, the NHC said.
Shortly after the storm made landfall early Thursday, its maximum sustained winds were about 65 miles per hour.
The hurricane center said the storm could strengthen before the center of the storm reaches land.
Earl weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall in Belize early Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm could be at near-hurricane strength when it approaches Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula early Thursday. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 12 hours or so, and Earl is expected to be a hurricane by the time it makes landfall along the coast of Belize.
The US National Hurricane Center said Earl was blowing at speeds of up to 121km/h (75mph).
Mexican authorities meanwhile say that the southern states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan are likely to be affected by Earl and have issued an alert.
On Wednesday, Earl raked the northern coast of Honduras with heavy rain. The navy was looking for the two missing.
Lisandro Rosales, head of Honduras’ emergency commission, said there were reports of large numbers of trees and utility poles being knocked down.
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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. The Belize Tourism Board announced that cruise ship visits had been canceled for this week.
