SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras –
Tropical Storm Sara scraped along northern Honduras’ Caribbean coast early Friday, dumping torrential rains across parts of Central America and southern Mexico after making an initial landfall overnight.
Sara hit land about 105 miles (165 kilometres) west-northwest of the Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. That is near Brus Laguna, a village of about 13,000 inhabitants. There are few other population centres nearby.
By dawn, the centre said the storm was located about 205 miles (330 kilometres) east-southeast of Belize City and was moving west at nine mph (15 km/h), with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 km/h).
The storm was expected to remain roughly on that path before heading out to sea again and threatening the coast of Belize.
Sara was forecast to pass over or very near the tourist destination of Roatan off Honduras’ coast on Sunday. The storm was then expected to turn northwesterly toward Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Mexican authorities warned it could cause “intense rains” over the resort-studded Yucatan Peninsula.
Sara was forecast to drop 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimetres) of rain, with up to 30 inches (75 centimetres) in isolated areas in northern Honduras. The heavy rain could lead to life-threatening flooding and landslides, the centre said.