Storm number 23 blows away hurricane season's records

Newly formed Tropical Storm Gamma threatened the coasts of Belize and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula today after its rains killed two people and forced evacuations across much of Central America.

Gamma, the 24th named storm of an already record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season, formed on yesterday off the coast of Honduras. Forecasters said it was likely to skirt Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula this weekend before heading toward Cuba’s western tip and then reaching southern Florida by Monday afternoon.

Tropical storm warnings were issued on Friday for the coasts of Belize, the southern Yucatan Peninsula and Honduras’ Bay Islands.

In Belize, a private plane belonging to an exclusive lodge owned by US filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola disappeared on Friday shortly after taking off from Belize international airport. The plane, which carried a Belizean pilot and two unidentified passengers, last made radio contact with air controllers 10 minutes into its 35-minute flight to the Blancaneux Lodge near the western border with Guatemala.

Soldiers and military pilots searched for the plane.

Gamma is on a path similar to that of last month’s Hurricane Wilma, which battered Cancun and Playa del Carmen and left thousands of tourists stranded for days – although Gamma was expected to turn east without hitting those beach resorts.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was expected to strengthen only slightly, according to the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

It spawned rains throughout Central America, including flooding and landslides in Honduras that killed two, left four missing and prompted the government to evacuate hundreds from coastal towns.

President Ricardo Maduro said soldiers are bringing in food, water, medicine and blankets to affected areas.

“The most important thing is to save human lives,” Maduro said.

Forecasters said Gamma could dump up to 10 inches of rain on some areas.

In Costa Rica, heavy rains prompted authorities to evacuate 600 people from communities in the south, said Reynaldo Carballo, a government spokesman.

A search-and-rescue operation was under way for five Belizean fishermen from the northern fishing village of Sarteneja near the Mexican border. Their 20-foot vessel was capsized by a large wave, police said.

Gamma extended the Atlantic’s record-breaking storm season. The previous record of 21 named storms had stood since 1933.