OIL prices eased slightly yesterday having hit almost $62 on Friday, because of the bomb explosions in London and fears that a hurricane in the Atlantic could damage US oil rigs.

Hurricane Emily swept over the Yucatan peninsula early today, snapping whole rows of concrete power lines in half, flooding some streets with knee-deep water and shattering ground-floor windows.

Howling wind and rain from Hurricane Emily lashed beaches in the Mexican resort of Cancun today, after thousands of tourists, many of them Britons, were evacuated from their hotels to improvised shelters at schools and gymnasiums.

Weather forecasters have predicted Hurricane Emily will hover over Mexico for the next three days bringing strong winds and floods to some of the country's top holidays resorts.

A massive evacuation of tourists in one of the world’s biggest resorts was set to begin today, as hundreds of buses were dispatched to move tens of thousands out of the path of Hurricane Emily.

Hurricane Emily regained dangerous Category 4 strength today, frightening storm-weary islanders in Jamaica and Cayman Islands after ravaging Grenada.

Hurricane Emily strengthened dangerously today after slamming into Grenada, where it blasted out windows and flooded two main hospitals and tore roofs from homes still damaged by last year’s storms. At least one man was killed.

The most powerful hurricane to hit Bermuda in 50 years slammed into the island chain today, unleashing winds that snapped off palm trees, scoured the coast and tested its vaunted ability to withstand a fierce storm.

Meteorologists say a 120mph hurricane heading towards Bermuda could be the worst storm to hit the islands in years.

The Bermudan government warned today that Hurricane Fabian could be the worst to hit the British territory for 15 years.