Workers board up the windows of a store in preparation for Hurricane Nana, expected as a Category 1 hurricane with winds up to 152 kph, in Belize City, Belize, on Sept. 2, 2020.
PUNTA GORDA, BELIZE - Tropical Storm Nana barreled westward Wednesday just off the coast of Honduras on a collision course with the Central American nation of Belize, where thousands of people were stocking up on food, water and construction materials.
Long lines stretched through supermarkets and hardware store shelves were nearly bare as Belizeans bought materials to board up windows and doors ahead of Nana's expected landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday, possibly as a hurricane.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that Nana was located about 160 kilometers east-southeast of Belize City with maximum sustained winds of 95 kph. The storm was moving at 24 kph and was expected to strengthen throughout the day.
Belize issued a hurricane warning for its coastline. Nana was 80 kilometers north-northwest of the Honduran island of Roatan, a popular tourist destination.
Heavy rains were expected in Belize, as well as in northern Honduras and throughout Guatemala as the storm crosses the isthmus Thursday.
Local leaders in rural villages in the southernmost district of Toledo were awaiting word from the National Emergency Management Organization to open hurricane shelters.
As evening approached, dark clouds hung on the horizon as uneasy residents awaited the storm's arrival.