Tropical Storm Franklin hits Mexico's Yucatan peninsula

MEXICO CITY: Tropical Storm Franklin made landfall on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula late Monday, dumping heavy rain on some of the country's premier tourist beaches.
Franklin arrived around 0345 GMT Tuesday some 350km south of the beach resort of Cancun, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.
The NHC warned of heavy rains and flash flooding across the peninsula and Belize, in its 0600 GMT bulletin.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 95km per hour, and is moving west at 14 miles per hour.
Franklin is expected to cross the peninsula and strengthen when it emerges in the Bay of Campeche on Wednesday.
In Belize, the authorities warned that power outages were likely in affected areas, especially in the northern regions closest to Mexico.
Guatemala however was largely spared, apart from heavy rain to the north and northeast.
The eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula is at high risk for devastating hurricane damage.
In 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit the Riviera Maya - the stretch of pristine beaches and resorts south of Cancun - as a Category Four storm and pummeled the area for 48 hours.
It killed eight people killed and did US$10 billion (RM42.83 billion) of damage.
Mexican authorities have already evacuated some 300 residents of small fishing communities in the storm's path. — AFP