Hurricane Wilma Lashes Cancun, Mexico

Hurricane Wilma lashed Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as it drifted moved slowly northward Saturday with sustained winds of 115 mph.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say Wilma could dump 10 to 20 inches of rain before it moves past the Yucatan on its way toward the Florida Keys. Heavy rainfall also was predicted for parts of western Cuba.

CNN said the storm hit Mexico as hard as Katrina hit Louisiana, bending trees and lampposts in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the resort island of Cozumel, and creating an 11-foot storm surge. The hotel zone in Cancun was flooded with sea water.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Wilma’s center was located just southwest of Cancun and 400 miles southwest of Key West. The storm was expected to continue its drift Saturday, emerging in the Gulf of Mexico late Saturday or early Sunday.

Cuba has evacuated 300,000 residents as officials expect Wilma to hit the western part of the country. Mandatory evacuations began at 6 a.m. Saturday in the Florida Keys. Wilma is expected to hit Florida Monday with the winds and rain reaching land late Sunday.

Evacuations began Friday in other parts of the state.