MEXICO:Hurricane Dean barrelled across Mexico's Yucatan peninsula yesterday, felling trees and power lines, sending corrugated iron roofs flying through the air and threatening large areas with flooding as it headed for the country's main offshore oilfields.
But for all the destruction and continuing danger, hopes were growing that catastrophe had been avoided.
Dean entered Mexico early yesterday as a category 5 hurricane - the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale and the third strongest Atlantic storm to hit land on record.
Sustained winds peaked at 266 km/h (165mph) with gusts topping 322km/h (200mph) on the outer edge of the storm's eye as it passed over the lightly populated southern stretch of coastline on the peninsula's eastern side.
Speaking to local media from Chetumal - a city of 150,000 on the border with Belize and the biggest population centre in the affected area - local governor Felix Gonzalez said there were no initial reports of casualties or serious damage.
Already largely emptied of tourists, the major resorts of Cancún and Playa del Carmen were only brushed by Dean's northern edge.
There was, however, still little information from Majahual - the main resort in the hurricane's path - and no word on the potential damage to the important Sian Ka'an nature reserve.
The main fear was of flooding in the low-lying peninsula, which is dotted with communities of Mayan Indians whose only shelter is flimsy houses and some of whom resisted evacuation. Local media reported that some had resisted evacuation.
Weakening as it crossed the peninsula, Dean was downgraded to a category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 168km/h (104mph) on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, where the national oil company had already shut down its wells, evacuating more than 18,000 workers.
Dean was forecast to re-enter the mainland today, north of the port city of Veracruz. President Felipe Calderón said he would visit when the weather permitted.