Pearson flights cancelled as hurricane approaches Cancun

Airlines cancelled flights out of Toronto as the tourist town of Cancun braced for Hurricane Rina on Thursday.

Sunwing 511, WestJet 2580 and Air Canada 1254, scheduled to leave from Pearson International Airport on Thursday morning, and Air Canada 1255 and WestJet 2581, due to leave after 6 p.m., were cancelled.

For updated flight information, check the Pearson airport website.

Rina was downgraded from a Category 2 storm to Category 1 on Wednesday, the lowest rung on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with its winds dropping to 140 km/h, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Vacationers already at the beaches along the coast of Yucatan’s peninsula were met with cloudy skies and sporadic heavy rains.

Canadians calm before storm

Canadians living in Cancun are are staying calm as the tropical storm approaches.

Former Toronto resident Kelly McLaughlin said Canucks living in the popular tourist town have prepared for the worst by securing their homes and stocking up on essentials, but so far “it’s business as usual.”

The 40-year-old, who has lived in Mexico for eight years, still expects flooding and heavy rain but says coastal residents are used to taking on stormy weather.

She says Cancun’s airport was crowded Wednesday as some weather-wary travellers cut short their vacations. But McLaughlin said she also spoke to other tourists who are determined to ride out the storm.

Taking precautions

Even with the downgrade, Rina is still expected to cause downpours and potentially dangerous waves and Mayor Julian Ricalde said that he had stepped up security to prevent looting and injuries.

“Public security has been patrolling,” he said. “We don’t want to have images like when Hurricane Wilma struck — of Cancun with looting all over the city. We’re going to lay down the law in a stern manner. We’ve spoken with those responsible for several companies so they can help us protect them and our purpose is for no one to be injured.”

Cancun was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Wilma, the most intense storm ever recorded in the Atlantic, and residents still have keen memories of the damage.

Earlier Wednesday, thousands of tourists evacuated but Ricalde said some stayed to ride out the storm.

“Approximately 30,000 tourists have left up to tonight,” he said. “Some left and some stayed and we’ve been worried about the hotels having the ability to give them the security and, of course, the food they need.”

Stores were bustling as residents rushed to stock up before shops closed.

“We bought tuna, crackers, chocolate and milk,” said Silvia Medina. “They’re things that are very indispensable. If the hurricane doesn’t hit, we still need those foods and we can consume them. This isn’t a panic. It’s just preventative.”

The sixth hurricane in the 2011 Atlantic season, Rina was located about 275 kilometres south southeast of Cozumel Island at 4 p.m. local time on Wednesday, and was moving west northwest at nine kilometres per hour.

The hurricane could dump 20 to 40 centimetres of rain over the eastern Yucatan peninsula, and some streets in the main tourist zone were already flooding on Wednesday.

A huge storm surge is also possible, raising tide levels as much as 1.2 metres above normal along the coast.

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