Belize on alert as Tropical Storm Sara moves along Honduran coast bringing heavy rain

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — Belize issued tropical storm warnings for the Central American country's coast on Friday as Tropical Storm Sara stalled in the western Caribbean, dousing Honduras' northern coast with heavy rain.

Sustained rain fell overnight in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, with no immediate sign of serious flooding.

Sara was forecast to drop 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain, with up to 30 inches in isolated areas of northern Honduras. The heavy rain could lead to life-threatening flooding and landslides, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

The weather system made landfall late Thursday about 105 miles (165 kilometers) west-northwest of Cabo Gracias a Dios, on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, the center reported. That is near Brus Laguna, a village of about 13,000 inhabitants. There are few other areas of population nearby.

In November 2020, Eta and Iota passed through Honduras after initially making landfall in Nicaragua as powerful Category 4 hurricanes. Northern Honduras caught the worst of the storms with torrential rains that set off flooding that displaced hundreds of thousands. Eta alone was responsible for as much as 30 inches of rain along the northern coast.

Sara moved back out into the Caribbean overnight and by Friday morning was located just south of the island of Roatan, a small-scale tourism destination.

In its latest update, the hurricane center said the storm was located about 160 miles (255 kilometers) southeast of Belize City and was moving west at 2 mph (4 kph), with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).

Sara was expected to continue to slow and then possibly strengthen slightly, but remain roughly on that path and threaten Belize's coast over the weekend.

It is then expected to turn northwesterly towards Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, though forecasters said it probably won't reemerge into the Gulf after crossing the Yucatan.

“What remains of the system when it emerges into the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico is not very favorable for redevelopment,” according to the hurricane center.

Mexican authorities warned that it could cause “intense rains” over the resort-studded Yucatan Peninsula.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A bridge stand over the Chamelecón river during rains brought on by tropical storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A man walks to his work place during rains brought on by tropical storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Motorcyclists cover themselves with plastic sheets during rains brought on by tropical storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

People cross a pedestrian bridge during rains brought on by tropical storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A man rides his bicycle during rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in La Lima, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Storm clouds descend over the Francisco Morazan stadium during rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Storm clouds descend over the Francisco Morazan stadium during rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A motorcyclist rides on a street flooded by rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in La Lima, Honduras, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

This GOES-East GeoGolor satellite image taken Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at 1:03 p.m. EST and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Tropical Storm Sara. (CIRA/NOAA via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.

Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.

“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.

Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.

On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless air assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

Meanwhile, on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, Russia claimed Saturday it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine did not immediately comment.

In Russia, local officials in the Krasnodar region said that a fire that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike on an oil terminal in the Black Sea city of Tuapse was put out on Saturday.

Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.

Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to slash Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - In this image taken from video released by Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev's Telegram channel, smoke rises after a drone attack on the oil refinery and terminal in Tuapse, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev Telegram channel via AP, File)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)