Hurricane warnings have been posted for coastal Honduras as a potentially catastrophic Hurricane Felix threatens Central America.
The US National Hurricane Centre earlier said that Felix had strengthened to a maximum Category 5 hurricane, hitting winds of 270km/h.
It is the second hurricane of the 2007 season and the second Category 5 after last month's Hurricane Dean.
The hurricane maintained its power overnight as it ploughed swiftly westward on a course expected to graze the northern Honduran coast.
At 11am Irish time, Felix was around 685km east of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaraguan/Honduras border and speeding westward at 33kph, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
It was described as a small storm, with hurricane force winds only extending out around 48km from its centre.
Tropical storm force winds could be felt 185km from the core where the most destructive winds are located.
Felix is expected to drop 12.7 to 20.3cm of rain across northern Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua.
In some areas as much as 30.5cm of rain could fall, possibly producing dangerous flashfloods and mudslides.
The storm has already swept through the southern Caribbean and is now heading towards Central America and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Belize are braced as Hurricane Felix prepares to make landfall in the next two days.
