Hurricane Delta Hits Mexican Coast With Dangerous Storm Surge
- Storm damage may leave areas uninhabitable for months
- Delta is shutting oil and gas platforms in Gulf of Mexico
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Hurricane Delta weakened to a Category 3 storm just before slamming into the coast of Mexico, but remains life-threatening.
Delta came ashore along the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula near Puerto Morelos, the National Hurricane Center said at 6:49 a.m. in New York. Maximum sustained winds were near 115 miles per hour (185 kilometers per hour) and the storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 8-12 feet along the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, the center said earlier Wednesday. The hurricane is predicted to strengthen again to Category 4 as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico toward the U.S. in the coming days.