Miami - Hurricane Iris picked up strength yesterday to become the most powerful storm of the Atlantic season, heading on a collision course with northern Central America.
"Iris is an extremely dangerous Category Four hurricane ... the strongest of the season and is expected to make landfall" near Belize, Guatemala and southern Mexico, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said. In October 26th, 1998, Hurricane Mitch hit the region, killing 20,000 people and causing $6.5 billion in damage.