Hurricane Lisa heads towards Belize coast in Central America

Tropical Storm Lisa under Cuba in the Caribbean Sea. Photo / AP

Hurricane Lisa strengthened Wednesday in the western Caribbean as it headed for Belize later in the day.

The US National Hurricane Center said Lisa had maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h by early afternoon. The storm’s centre was about 60km east-southeast of Belize City and moving west at 22 km/h.

Belize’s National Emergency Management Organisation said the storm was expected to come ashore near Belize City, the country’s capital, but warned that “residents across the country are reminded to be prepared”.

Einer Gomez, the assistant manager at Ramon’s Village Resort in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, just off the coast of Belize, said a light rain had started to fall and there was some storm surge, but no high winds yet.

Hurricane Lisa nearing landfall in Belize this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/qLVCZkSxNl

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“All the guests that are in the beachfront units have been relocated” to less exposed rooms, and beach furniture had been secured, Gomez said. “Everyone is just waiting for it to pass,” he said.

Lisa was forecast to cross Belize into northern Guatemala and then move into southeastern Mexico by Thursday.

The hurricane centre warned of the danger of flooding and mudslides from heavy rains. It said the storm could drop 10 to 15 centimetres of rain on Belize, the Bay Islands, northern Guatemala, the eastern portion of Mexico’s Chiapas state and the Mexican state of Tabasco.

A hurricane warning was posted for Roatan island, the other Bay Islands of Honduras, the coast of Belize north, and the southern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Puerto Costa Maya.

Lisa could re-emerge into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression.

Far out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Martin rose to hurricane strength Wednesday, but forecasters said it posed no immediate threat to land.

Martin had maximum sustained winds of 110 kph. It was centred about 1270 km south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and moving to the east-northeast at 43 kph.