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Strengthening Fast, Felix Rakes Caribbean

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By LINDA STRAKER, The Associated Press

Published: September 2, 2007

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada - Tropical Storm Felix strengthened into a hurricane Saturday evening and spun through the Caribbean toward a group of small islands off Venezuela.

The fast-strengthening Category 1 hurricane was forecast to pass near Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao later Saturday or early today. It was then expected to pass by Honduran resort islands before plowing into Belize on Wednesday. A tropical storm warning was issued for the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

Saturday evening, the hurricane was east of Aruba, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It had top sustained winds of 75 mph with higher gusts.

Felix, the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to strengthen today. Forecasters said satellite images show Felix was steadily expanding in size.

A tropical storm watch was issued by the government of Jamaica, which was battered by Hurricane Dean on Aug. 19.

Earlier Saturday as a tropical storm, Felix pounded Grenada with heavy rain and wind, snapping small boats loose from their moorings, temporarily knocking out local radio and TV stations and toppling utility lines.

No injuries were reported, but the storm ripped roofs off at least two homes, and a popular concert venue was demolished.

Jess Charles, 29, said he and his family were terrified as they hunkered down overnight in their house in the Grenadian town of Calliste.

'It was really very, very scary,' Charles said. 'The wind was blowing so hard we thought our roof might come off.'

Felix became the sixth named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season early Saturday, spawning thunderstorms and downing trees in Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Those islands reported minor damage.

Tropical Storm Henriette, meanwhile, was moving out to sea after dumping rain on Mexico's Pacific coastline.

In the resort city of Acapulco, the downpours loosened a giant boulder that smashed into a home, killing one adult and two children. Two others were injured. A teenager and her two brothers also were killed when a landslide slammed into their house in a poor neighborhood.

In Aruba, about 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela, residents stocked up on groceries, flashlights and window reinforcements to prepare for Felix's arrival. The airport was reported busy but calm as tourists got on flights.

A long line of customers snaked through a hardware store in Aruba's capital, where jittery residents and hotel employees stocked up on plywood and boards.

'This kind of weather doesn't usually make it to Aruba, so people are definitely worried,' store cashier Mark Werleman said.

Rebecca Waddington, a meteorologist at the hurricane center, advised employees of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to monitor Felix's progress because the storm could enter the area in four to five days.

A tropical storm warning also was in effect along Mexico's coast from Punta San Telmo to Cabo Corrientes.

With maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, the storm was expected to become a hurricane by today. But forecasters put it on a path that would not threaten land until Thursday, when it could hit a remote section of the Baja California peninsula.

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