Yucatan braces for 'dangerous' Emily

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http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/07/1...her/index.html

Cancun airport closes after tourist evacuation

Sunday, July 17, 2005; Posted: 6:42 p.m. EDT (22:42 GMT)


Hurricane Emily is seen east of the Yucatan Peninsula in this satellite image taken Sunday at 4:45 p.m. ET.
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HURRICANE EMILY
As of 5 p.m. ET Sunday
Position of center: 135 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico
Latitude: 19.40 north
Longitude: 85.2 west
Top sustained winds: 145 mph
Source: National Hurricane Center RELATED
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Manage Alerts | What Is This? (CNN) -- Hurricane Emily barreled toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a powerful Category 4 hurricane Sunday afternoon with winds up to 145 mph.

The tourist destination of Cancun closed its airport, and Mexico's state oil company evacuated drill rigs offshore as the storm approached.

As of 5 p.m. ET, Emily was centered 135 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, moving west-northwest at about 20 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

The storm's maximum sustained winds were about 145 mph, with some higher gusts, making Emily an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, the hurricane center said.

A Category 4 hurricane can wreak extensive structural damage and cause coastal flooding, with storm surges of up to 18 feet over normal tides.

The hurricane center's forecast shows Emily's center will probably reach the Yucatan by late Sunday or early Monday, then approach the Mexican coast for a second time -- this time near the Texas border -- by late Tuesday.