Storm Earl lashes Belize, Heads for Mexico

Tropical storm Earl whipped Belize with wind and heavy rain as it weakened, moving into Guatemala toward southeastern Mexico on Thursday after hundreds of people took shelter overnight.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said at 1200 GMT that Earl had maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (105 km per hour) as it churned about 90 miles (145 km) west of Belize City. Earl had been a hurricane overnight.

Late Wednesday, over 1,000 people were in shelters in Belize City, according to Philip Willoughby, who is in charge of the city's emergency management. Dozens of people were also evacuated in Honduras on Wednesday, the government said.

As it moves west, Earl is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later Thursday or by Friday morning, the NHC said.

Mexican national oil company Pemex said Wednesday night it was monitoring Earl but had not evacuated workers at oil platforms that are concentrated in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Earl, the fifth named storm of the 2016 season, was expected to bring 8 to 12 inches (20-30 cm) of rain in parts of Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula through Friday morning, the Miami-based NHC said in a statement.

By Henry Romero and Manuel Carrillo