Hurricane Rina grows in Caribbean

Hurricane Rina has swelled to a Category 2 storm as it sweeps towards Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and Caribbean beach resorts.

The US National Hurricane Centr

e (NHC) said Rina was expected to become a "major hurricane" by Tuesday night.

Further south, a Nicaraguan navy vessel that went missing in the storm with 27 people on board has been found safe.

The vessel, which had been evacuating fishermen, was spotted by a shrimping boat after two days adrift.

Destructive waves

At 1500GMT Rina was already packing sustained winds of 105mph (165kph), the NHC said.

It was expected to further increase in strength before hitting the coast of Yucatan on Thursday morning.

A hurricane warning is in force from Punta Gruesa to the tourist resort city of Cancun on Mexico's Caribbean coast, with tropical storm conditions extending further south.

Destructive waves and rainfall of 8 to 16 inches (20-40cm) are predicted.

Rina formed off the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua but has now turned away from Central America, which is already struggling to recover from weeks of torrential rain.

Floods and landslides have killed more than 100 people in the region, with El Salvador and Guatemala particularly badly effected.

The UN has launched an emergency appeal for $15.7m (£9.8m) in funds to help 300,000 people affected by the downpours in El Salvador.

"El Salvador is facing one of the biggest disas

ters in its history, given the scale and magnitude of the impact, as well as the damage caused to agriculture and infrastructure," Elisabeth Byrs of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Throughout the region, 1.2m people had been affected, the UN said.

The presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are meeting in San Salvador to discuss the disaster and issue a joint appeal for international aid.