MIAMI (AFP) — Hurricane Felix intensified into a potentially devastating Category Five storm Sunday as it churned its way through the Caribbean toward Belize and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center in Miami upgraded Felix from a Category Two to a Category Five, the topmost strength on the Saffir-Sampson scale, over a bare 15 hours Sunday as it moved over the warm Caribbean Sea.
The storm's top winds have increased to near 270 kilometers (165 miles) per hour.
"Reports from a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that Felix continues to rapidly strengthen," the NHC said in its 0000 GMT (Monday) public advisory.
Earlier a much weaker Felix dealt a glancing blow to the Netherlands Antilles islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao as it barreled over the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Venezuela reported one person missing from a beach in Puerto Cabello, 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Caracas, which was blasted by high winds and heavy swells.
At the time of the upgrade, the massive storm was about 625 kilometers (390 miles) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, moving west-northwest at about 35 kilometers (25 miles) per hour.
Felix was not expected to hit Jamaica directly, but its strong outer squalls could rock the island during elections Monday.
Its track is expected to take it toward Belize or the Yucatan in Mexico, with landfall projected for Wednesday.
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