Nana makes landfall in Belize as a Category 1 hurricane, then downgrades to a tropical storm

A stormy system called Nana became a

late on Wednesday

in the Central American nation of Belize, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) .

Later, it was downgraded to a tropical storm while moving over this country and heading for Guatemala. 

In Belize, thousands of people were supplied with food, water and construction materials. 

There were long lines at the supermarkets and many of the supplies in the hardware stores sold out as Belizeans rushed to wall up windows and protect the doors of their homes

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As of early Thursday, Nana had maximum sustained winds of up to 70 miles per hour, the NHC reported.

The storm was moving at 15 miles per hour and is expected to strengthen throughout the day. 

Belize issued a hurricane watch for the entire coast.

Nana was located 65 miles northeast of the Honduran island of Roatán, a popular tourist destination.

Heavy rains are expected in Belize, as in northern

and throughout

when the storm crosses the isthmus on Thursday.

The

and the peninsula of

have received Tropical storm warnings and there are warnings of possible flash floods.

Ground zero devastation in Louisiana where Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4

Aug. 27, 202001: 56

Nana's trajectory is expected to take her to the Pacific coast in the following days, between the border of Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas.

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Local leaders in rural villages in the Toledo district, in the extreme south, awaited the order of the National Organization for Emergency Management to open shelters with the added difficulty of maintaining distance between people due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As night

,

, the news agency reported.

With information from The Associated Press and Prensa Libre