Tropical Storm Ernesto heads for Honduras, Mexico

Tropical Storm Ernesto careened towards Honduras, Belize and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula early Tuesday, with US forecasters warning it would become a hurricane before hitting land. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Ernesto was packing winds of about 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour as it powered across the Caribbean on a west-northwest track at a speed of 20 kilometers an hour. At 1200 GMT, the eye of the storm was about 405 kilometers east of Belize City, and was projected to move across the Yucatan coast late Tuesday and early Wednesday before emerging over the Bay of Campeche Wednesday afternoon. "Strengthening is expected ... and Ernesto is forecast to become a hurricane before it reaches the Yucatan peninsula," the center said. "Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coasts of Belize and Mexico tonight or early Wednesday." Forecasters said the storm could dump heavy rain along the northern coast of Honduras, northern Guatemala, as well as portions of the Yucatan peninsula -- home to several resort towns -- and parts of Belize. "These rains are likely to cause dangerous flash floods and mudslides over higher terrain," the US hurricane center said, also warning of the risk of a storm surge in coastal areas. A hurricane warning was in effect for the entire coast of Belize, and parts of the Yucatan Peninsula's east coast, from Chetumal to Punta Allen. A tropical storm warning meanwhile was in effect for the coast of Honduras -- from the Nicaraguan border westward to Punta Sal -- as well as north of Punta Allen to Cancun on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and from Celestun southward to Chilitepec along the peninsula's western coast. In Mexico, authorities in Quintana Roo state evacuated two fishing villages and ordered the closure of the port of Chetumal, the state capital. The state is home to Cancun and the island of Cozumel, a popular cruise ship stop. Some 1,500 people have been evacuated from Nicaragua's coastal areas and from the Miskito Cays island chain, with authorities predicting strong winds and powerful waves. In Honduras, where rains were already lashing the coast, authorities issued a "24-hour yellow alert," readied evacuation plans and prepared to deliver humanitarian aid. And in Guatemala, equipment and other humanitarian support have been sent to northern regions of the country in preparation for the storm's effects.