Punta Gorda, Sep 3 (AP) Hurricane Nana barrelled westward Wednesday just off the coast of Honduras on a collision course with the Central American nation of Belize, where thousands of people were stocking up on food, water and construction materials.

Long lines stretched through supermarkets and hardware store shelves were nearly bare as residents of Belize bought materials to board up windows and doors ahead of Nana's expected landfall early Thursday as a hurricane.

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The US National Hurricane Center reported that Nana was located about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southeast of Belize City with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), making it a hurricane.

The storm was moving at 16 mph (26 kph).

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Belize issued a hurricane warning for its coastline. Heavy rains were expected in Belize, as well as in northern Honduras and throughout Guatemala as the storm crosses the isthmus Thursday.

Local leaders in rural villages in the southernmost district of Toledo were awaiting word from the National Emergency Management Organisation to open hurricane shelters.

As evening approached, dark clouds hung on the horizon as uneasy residents awaited the storm's arrival. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)