Zeta increased from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane, with a maximum wind speed of 130 kilometers per hour (36 meters per second), the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Monday night Zeta was located about 70 kilometers southeast of the Mexican resort island of Cozumel, and its center was expected to reach the Yucatan Peninsula in a few hours.
Authorities ordered work and shipping to be suspended in storm-prone areas and opened shelters for people who do not feel safe at home. In the resort town of Cancún, residents bought food, as well as firewood and tapes to cover their windows, while drivers stood in line for gas.
It is expected that Zeta will bring heavy rains and may cause flooding. The NHC warned that the storm could intensify before reaching land in the Yucatan Peninsula.
The overland storm is expected to weaken, but then intensify again over the Gulf of Mexico, approaching the southeastern United States.
On October 7, a Category 2 hurricane hit the Yucatan Peninsula Delta, which felled trees and broke power lines, but did not cause the death of any man.
Zeta is the 28th storm in this year’s very active Atlantic hurricane season. There have been so many storms this season that the NHC was forced to resort to the Greek alphabet in September to name the last hurricanes of the season.
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