Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 20, 2007

Hurricane Dean Batters Jamaica, Moves Toward Yucatan
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=18CDBFE:A6F02AD83191E1606D15A8CFC5C5DCBF9574F7DCC14957C0 Hurricane is
moving away from Jamaica overnight, and is expected to pass just south
of the Cayman Islands Mexico and Belize have issued hurricane warnings
as Hurricane Dean churns across the Caribbean, bringing torrential
rains and winds of more than 240 kilometers-per-hour.







Young boys use an umbrella to resist the wind while walking at a
street of Kingston during the pass of Hurricane Dean over Jamaica, 19
Aug 2007The powerful storm struck Jamaica Sunday. The island nation
set up emergency shelters, switched off electricity and told residents
to take cover. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Jamaica is
likely to rescind a hurricane warning Monday when officials will be
able to start assessing the damage.

The extremely dangerous storm is passing south of the Cayman Islands
Monday morning.

Forecasters say the storm will hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula - which
separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico - late Monday or
early Tuesday.

They expect the storm to strengthen as it spins across warm Caribbean
waters. Forecasters say Dean's winds could exceed 250
kilometers-per-hour when it hits Mexico.

The hurricane has killed at least eight people in the Caribbean.
Damage reports are ongoing. Evacuation calls were sounded for areas
considered at risk, from the Cayman Islands to the U.S. state of
Texas.

The storm prompted the U.S. space agency to order the shuttle
Endeavour to begin its return flight to Earth Sunday for a Tuesday
landing - one day earlier than had been planned.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


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