Hurricane Felix, now a Category 4 storm, spins toward Central America

Hurricane Felix strengthened into a dangerous Category 4 storm Sunday as it toppled trees and flooded homes on a cluster of Dutch islands before churning its way into the open waters of the Caribbean.\nFelix lashed Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire with rains and heavy winds, causing scattered power outages and forcing thousands of tourists to take refuge in hotels.\nFelix, packing maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, is now expected to spin over the open waters of the central Caribbean before skirting Honduras’ northern coastline on Tuesday and plowing into Belize on Wednesday as a huge hurricane capable of major damage.\nThe storm forced tens of thousands of tourists and residents on the three Dutch islands to remain in their homes and hotels, stocked up with water, flashlights and emergency provisions.\nIn Curacao, about a dozen homes in a low-lying area were flooded. In Aruba, there was little visible damage, although at least one catamaran snapped off its mooring and a house was damaged by a downed tree. A northern settlement had a temporary power outage.\nMany Bonaire residents had prepared for the worst, installing storm shutters and hauling their boats ashore, but the storm’s winds left \nlittle damage.\nFelix became the second Atlantic hurricane of the season Saturday evening, following Hurricane Dean, which left at least 20 dead in the Caribbean and carved out a destructive swath that stretched from St. Lucia to Mexico.\nFelix changed directions constantly after nightfall and wobbled, making the storm’s impact hard to predict, Curacao Lt. Gov. Lizanne Richards-Dindial said at a news conference.\nOn Saturday, Felix brought heavy rains and strong winds to Grenada as a tropical storm, ripping roofs off at least two homes and destroying a popular concert venue. \nThe government of the Cayman Islands issued a tropical storm watch for Grand Cayman, the wealthy British territory’s main island.\nJamaica’s government also issued a tropical storm watch. The island was battered by Hurricane Dean on Aug. 19.\nIn Belize, residents stocked up on water and food, and nailed boards over their windows to protect against the hurricane’s howling winds. Many in low-lying areas sought higher ground.\nThings were more calm in Honduras, where authorities were keeping a close eye on the storm but hadn’t started evacuations. Along the country’s northern coastline, tourists were still lounging by the pool and enjoying the sun.\nRebecca Waddington, a meteorologist at the hurricane center, advised employees of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to monitor Felix’s progress and said the storm could reach the area in four to five days.\n–Associated Press Writer Linda Straker in St. George’s, Grenada, contributed to this report.