Texas-sized Hurricane Dean spins toward Yucatan

Yucatan Villagers Implored to Flee Homes

By Adriana Varillas and Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, August 21, 2007; Page A10

FELIPE CARRILLO PUERTO, Mexico, Aug. 20 -- Hurricane Dean drew strength from warm Caribbean waters Monday and roared toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where soldiers begged campesinos to abandon thatch-roofed shacks and take refuge in shelters.

After battering the Cayman Islands with heavy rain and wind, Dean, which reached Category 5 strength Monday evening, is expected to smash into the Yucatan with 160 mph winds and even stronger gusts before dawn Tuesday. Torrential rains and storm surges up to 18 feet are forecast.

"It's as bad as it gets," meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said in a telephone interview from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The storm, which is blamed for eight deaths over the weekend on Caribbean islands, appeared to be veering away from the luxury resorts of Cancun and toward lightly populated areas at the southern end of the peninsula seldom visited by tourists. The region is known for its natural splendor, highlighted by the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve, and is rich with natural buffers, such as swamps, that can help deaden the impact of hurricanes.