20 August 07
Hurricane
Dean tourist update
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The catogory four Hurricane Dean that
is ripping through the Caribbean is set to complete its passage through Jamaica
further South than at first suspected.
The Federation of Tour Operators has received preliminarily reports that
the main holiday resorts in Jamaica have had strong rain and winds
although the capital Kingston was hit hard with sheets of rain and some
roads blocked due to trees falling over.
UK tour operators, resort staff and hoteliers are all working together
closely monitoring the hurricanes path and so far no injuries of any
tourists has been received.
The new more Southern route of Hurricane Dean also means that the
Mexican holiday resort of Yucatan Peninsular should also be safe from
potential destruction.
A risk modeling company EQECAT inc. has estimated that the insured
losses from the hurricane would be $1.5 billion (750 million pounds) to
$3.0 billion with the majority in Jamaica.
There is a chance that hurricane Dean could turn into a catogory 5 which
are fairly rare, although in 2005 there was four including Katrina which
suggests that global warming was in fact increasing the strength of
tropical storms.
Useful Websites
National
Hurricane Centre
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