August 21, 2007
Hurricane Dean Hits Mexico, Cuts Summit Short
UPDATED.
Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula took some of the wind out of Hurricane Dean's sails as the Atlantic's most intense storm in two decades landed there earlier today. But even though the hurricane was downgraded from Category 5 to Category 1 as it crossed the peninsula, Dean still managed to cause some serious damage near resort areas in Mexico and northern Belize. No casualties in those areas were reported as of press time, although the storm claimed 13 lives in the Caribbean earlier this week.
The storm was expected to pick up again after entering the Bay of Campeche and "make a final landfall midday tomorrow in the Mexican state of Veracruz," the Weather Channel reports. Mexican President Felipe Calderon was returning home early from a summit in Canada today to deal with the damage.
In a press conference from the summit today, President Bush pledged to help those affected by the hurricane. "The American people care a lot about the human condition in our neighborhood and when we see human suffering we want to do what we can," he told reporters.
