The storm’s center is 145 kilometers (90 miles) west of Belize City and moving west at 24 kph (15 mph).
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The U.S. National Hurricane Centre says Earl’s maximum sustained winds decreased to near 105 kph with additional weakening expected as the storm moves farther inland. Heavy rains are forecast to be a danger in southern Mexico through Saturday as Earl crosses the Yucatan Peninsula and the states of Tabasco and Veracruz, where there could be life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.
Shortly after the storm made landfall early Thursday, its maximum sustained winds were about 65 miles per hour.
The remnants of Hurricane Earl will continue to be pose no threat to the United States.
Tropical storm warnings have been put in place North of Puerto Costa Maya up to Punta Allen, Mexico. The Belize government opened storm shelters and used radio and television broadcasts to urge residents of low-lying areas to move to higher ground, but the shelters were still empty on Wednesday morning. The storm could be at near-hurricane strength when it approaches Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula early Thursday.
Just as then-Hurricane Earl was making landfall early Thursday morning in Belize, the Category 1 storm was reduced to a tropical storm, Weather.com reported. The navy was looking for the two missing.
Near the coast, the center said, there would be “large and damaging waves”.
Schools and universities closed across Honduras’ Atlantic provinces as did two commercial airports. Hotels along the coast and the low-lying islands offshore had already pulled in awnings and beach chairs as the rains began whipping the coast late Wednesday.
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Officials have ordered the closure of the city’s worldwide airport while archaeological reserves and national parks were also shut. The Belize Tourism Board announced that cruise ship visits had been canceled for this week.
