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Hurricane Dean looked like a monster. It developed into a category 5, the
highest and most dangerous level. Category 1 is called “minimal,” with wind
speeds up to 95 mph. Category 5 is called “catastrophic,” with wind speeds of at
least 156 mph. It blows over trees and destroys small buildings. Hurricane Dean
hit Jamaica, just south of Cuba. It destroyed hundreds of homes in Jamaica, and
then continued west toward Belize and Yucatan, part of Mexico. Cancun, a Mexican
resort town on the Gulf of Mexico, was also in danger.
Thousands of tourists caught early flights out of Cancun. But some stayed.
“Hurricanes are usually more bark than bite,” said one tourist from Mississippi.
“Of course, sometimes they’re all bite, like Katrina a couple of years ago, and
Andrew and Camille before that.”
“Don’t forget Hugo, and Charley, and Agnes, and Rita,” his wife chimed in.
“Oh, yeah, and Gilbert! And what about Wilma?”
“Yeah, you’re right. They can be dangerous. But usually, they just bring
lots of rain and wind without much destruction. My wife and I are having a great
time here in Cancun, and we’re not going to pick up and leave, especially
considering how much this vacation is costing us. We’ll take our chances.”
This tourist and his wife were lucky. Dean traveled south of Cancun,
causing little damage to the resort. In fact, two days later, Cancun was almost
completely cleaned up and bustling again. It was as if Dean had never been
there. The hurricane brought heavy rain to parts of Mexico, but died out two
days after hitting land. Two weeks later, Hurricane Felix, also a category 5 at
one point, passed south of Jamaica and headed straight toward Nicaragua. |
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