HURRICANE DEAN wreaked havoc in the eastern Caribbean last week, then battered St Lucia before moving on to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, which had a lucky escape from the high winds and heavy rain, on Monday.   

The hurricane strengthened to a category five as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico, but was downgraded to a category three shortly after it reached land. Although the popular Mexican resort of Cancun escaped a direct hit with the strongest winds hitting less densely populated areas, it was estimated that two-thirds of the area's tourists had already fled.  As the hurricane moved towards the Yucatan Peninsula, it was expected to regain strength when it hit the sea again on Tuesday night, after which it is due to hit Mexico's coast once again.   

Category five storms are rare ~ only 3 have hit the US since record-keeping began.  The return of the Shuttle Endeavour was brought forward by a day in an attempt to beat the hurricane should it have reached Texas.