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Ida becomes hurricane again in north-west Caribbean

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO Nov 08 2009 08:22

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Tropical Storm Ida became a Category-One hurricane again late on Saturday in the north-western Caribbean off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

The Miami-based hurricane centre said Ida, which first became a hurricane on Thursday off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua before weakening over that country, reached maximum sustained winds of about 120km/h, and was about 195km east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico.

Tropical storms become hurricanes when top sustained winds reach 119km/h.

Forecasters expected the storm to weaken as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico next week.

Skies were sunny and clear on Saturday in the Mexican resort of Cancun, and Ida is expected to pass east of the city on Sunday afternoon.

Mexico issued a hurricane watch for the Yucatan Peninsula from the resort of Tulum to Cabo Catoche, north of Cancun.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Grand Cayman Island and for the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, the hurricane centre said.

The Mexican government urged people to avoid unnecessary travel in the Yucatan Peninsula and imposed restrictions on coastal shipping.

Mexico's state oil monopoly, Pemex, which has extensive operations in the Gulf of Mexico, activated its hurricane contingency programme but oil and gas production was unaffected, a company spokesperson said.

CONTINUES BELOW

US energy companies said on Friday they were monitoring the storm's progress but had not yet begun evacuating any production platforms.

The Gulf of Mexico accounts for a quarter of US domestic oil production and 15% of natural gas output. The Gulf Coast is also home to 40% of the nation's refining capacity.

Ida dumped heavy rain along Nicaragua's Caribbean coast earlier in the week, but there were no reports of fatalities. The country's coffee crop was not directly affected by the storm, according to the local coffee council. - Reuters

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Ida becomes hurricane again in north-west Caribbean

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