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First Hurricane of Season hits BP Oil Spill Clean-up

First Hurricane of Season hits BP Oil Spill Clean-up
As soon as hurricane Alex came along, the long efforts to clean oil from the Gulf of Mexico has been halted. It was previously predicted that a severe storm season was ahead. The storm Alex has closed the Mexico-Texas border on 29 June and has halted BP's oil spill clean-up efforts.

3.6 meters (12ft) high waves caused due to the hurricane are expected to delay the company's plans to employ a further system to clean more oil from the blown-out oil well until later in the week. Flights spraying dispersant chemicals and other booming operations were all halted.

The hurricane with winds of 80mph was located about 255 miles south-east of Brownsville, Texas, in the early hours of the morning on 29 June. The US national hurricane center predicted that the storm was moving at 5mph to the west. Generally, the Atlantic hurricane season occurs from 1 June to 30 November, and this year the meteorologists predicted it to be an active one.

Because of the strong surf created by the hurricane, Mexico has closed its Gulf coast ports of Dos Bocas and Cayo Arcas that handle more than 80% of the country's oil exports. Though Alex is delaying BP's clean-up efforts, the company has expected that the storm will not interrupt plans to drill two relief wells that are intended to plug the leak by August. South Texas officials have prepared rescue vehicles and shelters in San Antonio and Laredo, and rushed supplies to the Rio Grande Valley.

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