The Ocean's Devils

File Under: Hurricane Update

It is now at category three, and stalling. Hurricane Wilma is continuing to drench Mexico, and blowing top winds of 115 mph. Thankfully, right now, there is no word of any deaths in Mexico related to Wilma. However, it is blamed for 13 deaths in Haiti and Jamaica. At least one shelter in downtown Cancun had to evacuate 1,000 people overnight, due to a severen threat of the ceiling collapsing. The eye of Wilma came ashore overnight near Playa de Carmen, in a sparsely populated area, occupied mainly by luxury resorts. Wilma will continue to pummel the Yucatan all day Saturday before getting back into the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters expect it to curl around and sprint towards Florida, where it may make landfall Monday.

Floridians have already begun to leave the Keys, and parts of mainland Florida. Traffic jams already backed up highways, and there were scattered gas shortages reported across the west coast. About 65,000 are said to have evacuated in Quintana Roo state before the hurricane hit Mexico. About 20,000 tourist are trapped in Mexico, sleeping on floors of ballrooms, schools, or wherever they can find a stable roof over their head. 10-12,000 of the tourist are estimated to be in Cancun itself.

Parts of Wilma have already begun to hit Cuba, where more than three feet of rain is expected. A reported 500,000 Cubans were evacuated ahead of time. There are waves of up to 21 feet reported in Cuba.

As the Wilma story arch continues to grow, there is another storm to watch... There is currently a Tropical Storm Alpha. It is the first time since record-keeping began that we've had this many tropical storms in one season. As the storms grow, and as they continue to pummel nation after nation, TDI will bring you the highlights from this record-breaking season.