Sharjah 24 - AFP: Belize, a nation in Central America, was on high alert Wednesday as Hurricane Lisa approached; Mexico's Yucatan peninsula was also warned to prepare for damaging winds, heavy rains, and flash floods.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued a hurricane warning for the coast of Belize and the Yucatan stretching from Chetumal to Puerto Costa Maya.

Lisa was headed westward in the Caribbean Sea at a speed of 22 kilometers (14 miles) per hour with maximum sustained winds of 130 kmh (80 mph) and even higher gusts, said the NHC in an advisory updated at 1800 GMT.

Some strengthening was possible before the Category 1 hurricane makes landfall in Belize, with rapid weakening as Lisa then moves inland, it added.

The NHC said somewhat less intense tropical storm conditions were predicted for the north coast of Honduras and the Bay Islands, northern Guatemala and the Yucatan coast north of Costa Maya, though still with strong winds and rains.

Downpours could cause flash flooding conditions across Belize into northern Guatemala and parts of southeast Mexico, the advisory said.

"A storm surge will likely raise water levels by as much as 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 meters) above normal tide levels near and to the north of where the center of Lisa crosses the coast of Belize and extreme southeastern portions of the Yucatan Peninsula," said the center.