Tropical storm 'Ida' gains strength in Caribbean

MIAMI (AFP) - – Mexico's government issued a hurricane warning on Saturday as a strengthening tropical storm Ida bore down on the country's Yucatan peninsula.

Ida was quickly picking up strength and could again become a hurricane late Saturday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, adding that the storm threatened to hit the United States on Wednesday.

At 1800 GMT the center of Ida was located about 370 kilometers (230 miles) southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and about 370 kilometers (230 miles) south of the western tip of Cuba, the NHC said.

"Reports from an Air Force Reserve aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds have increased to near 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour, with higher gusts," making it a strong tropical storm.

Ida could become a hurricane late Saturday, "but weakening is expected after Ida enters the Gulf of Mexico," the NHC said.

Ida was moving northward at 15 kilometers per hour, and was forecast to pick up speed, turn northwest, and touch the northern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday, then move into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Cuba also issued a tropical storm warning for the Pinar del Rio province.

The storm is expected to dump up to 13 centimeters (five inches) of rain over parts of the Yucatan peninsula and Cuba, "with possible isolated maximum amounts" of 25 centimeters (10 inches).

On Friday, Ida battered Nicaragua's Caribbean coast despite being downgraded to a tropical depression.

Heavy rains from Ida swelled Nicaraguan rivers, destroying an estimated 530 houses and hitting remote communities in one of Central America's poorest nations.

The NHC warned rains could produce flash floods and mudslides in Central America and the Caribbean.