Rina heads toward Yucatan Peninsula

Hurricane Rina weakened as it approached Mexican beaches in the Yucatan Peninsula and was not expected to threaten the United States, U.S. forecasters said. Residents fled inland as the storm moved toward Quintana Roo, which includes the resort towns of Cancun and Cozumel, where it was expected to hit Thursday night into Friday, CNN reported. Rina, with sustained winds of 75 mph, was about 115 miles south of Cozumel and 150 miles east-northeast of Chetumal and moving northwest at 6 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 5 a.m. EDT advisory. The center issued a hurricane warning for the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to San Felipe and a tropical storm warning for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Punta Gruesa and the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula west of Progreso. People on the islands of Holbox and Mujeres were being evacuated, and about 50,000 coastal residents whose housing was considered "vulnerable" moved inland to stay with relatives or friends, said Juan Gabriel Granados, operations director for Quintana Roo civil protection in Chetumal. In Playa del Carmen, beachfront business were boarded up. The storm will likely bring 6 to 10 inches of rain to the Yucatan Peninsula and Cozumel through Friday and a storm surge with tides of 2 to 4 feet above normal is expected, forecasters said.