Emily passed Venezuela

Hurricane Emily passed Venezuela without any deaths or injuries. 64 families in an eastern state who had had to leave their homes because of flooded rivers can now return home.

Venezuela has lifted restrictions on maritime travel for small vessels and oil tankers prompted by passing Hurricane Emily, reports the AP.

The restrictions were lifted at all ports along the Caribbean coast of the world's fifth largest oil exporter, said Antonio Rivero, the director of Venezuela's emergency protection agency.

The hurricane brought heavy rains and flooding in some regions, but did not cause any deaths or injuries. Flooding forced 64 families to temporarily leave their homes when rivers in eastern Monagas state overflowed their banks, Rivero said.

During the storm, oil tankers were among ships ordered to stay in port in the key oil refining zone of Puerto La Cruz on Thursday.

Ports in western Venezuela were operating normally Thursday as the hurricane began edging away from Venezuela's coast, officials said, but ships with western destinations had been ordered to remain anchored outside ports until rains and winds spinning off from Emily had passed.

According to AFP, Emily's winds increased to 135 miles (215 kilometers) per hour as it headed toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

As Reuters reports, citing the NHC, on its forecast track, the center of the storm should pass just south of Jamaica on Saturday, cross the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico early Monday, and cross the southwest Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday before making landfall near the Texas-Mexico border.