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The hurricane-force winds of a huge Category Five storm have struck Mexico, the US National Hurricane Centre has said.

Clear-up begins in Kingston, JamaicaShortly after midnight the US National Hurricane Centre upgraded Hurricane Dean to the highest level, the same as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated parts of the US in 2005.

At least 12 people have already died as Dean swept across the Caribbean.

Tens of thousands of tourists have been fleeing as the storm roared toward the ancient ruins and modern oil installations of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Federation of Tour Operators has said there are about 5,000 British holidaymakers in Yucatan resorts.

About 70,000 people have fled the coastal areas in the past few days and thousands of others have been waiting for hours at airports.

The storm's first rains and winds began hitting the coast on Monday evening.

Overnight Dean sustained winds of 155 mph as it headed towards Mexico.

The US National Hurricane Centre said it was centered 210 miles east of Chetumal, Mexico, and would strengthen further before striking the Mexican coast.

Tourists wait at Belize airportA hurricane warning is in effect from Cancun all the way south through Belize, as well as the Yucatan's western coast.

All hospitals were closed in Belize City, the country's biggest, and authorities urged residents to leave, saying Dean is too strong for their shelters.

Central Mexico is next on the storm's expected route.

Its outer bands are likely to bring rain, flooding and gusty winds to south Texas, which is already saturated after an unusually rainy summer.

The worst storm to hit Latin America in modern times was 1998's Hurricane Mitch, which killed nearly 11,000 people and left more than 8,000 missing, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1280605,00.html