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© Sky News
Tourists are cutting their holidays short in Cancun, Mexico, as Hurricane Rina bears down on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The storm was a Category Two on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale measuring hurricane intensity on Wednesday afternoon, with winds of 110mph.

It could become a Category Three major hurricane with winds of up to 115mph by Wednesday night, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the centre warned. The storm is due to strike the peninsula late by Thursday.

On Wednesday morning temperatures in Cancun were falling ahead of the storm as rain showered the popular resort area.

Most schools were closed as residents rushed to make preparations for the hurricane.

Cruise lines moved their ships out of the way, the airport began cancelling flights, and tourists abandoned their holiday plans.

Forecasters have predicted the storm will strengthen as it nears the Mexican coast before rolling over the island of Cozumel, then along the coast to Cancun.

An official said there are about 83,000 tourists in the state. Most are leaving but some apparently plan to ride out Rina.

Douglas Baird, 40, of Glasgow, Scotland, said he would not leave Playa del Carmen: "I'll go to the bar.".

Wendy Powers, a 49-year-old from Louisiana, also insisted she is not concerned.

"We had Katrina and we survived it... If the one coming here is a Category 1 or 2, we could have a beach party."

Cancun was badly damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, when the area's famous white-sand beaches were largely washed away. Total damage was estimated at $3bn (about £1.9bn).

State officials said they were readying more than 1,100 shelters that could cope with nearly 200,000 people.

The hurricane was centred about 230 miles southeast of Cozumel early on Wednesday and was moving west at nearly 4mph, the Hurricane Centre said.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun.

The projected track shows it curving east toward Cuba and the Straits of Florida by early next week.

But the Hurricane Centre cautioned: "There is great uncertainty as to where Rina will be located by the weekend."