The storm Beta was upgraded to a hurricane early Saturday, the 13th so far this year and a record for the Atlantic hurricane season, AP reported. "Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 75 mph (120 kph) with higher gusts. This makes Beta a Category 1 hurricane," the Miami-based hurricane center said. The hurricane, which began whipping the Colombian island of Providencia on Friday, was expected to move north-northwest and slam into Central America by Sunday as a Category 2 storm. Thousands of people in Nicaragua were being evacuated and army soldiers were brought in to help. This hurricane season which has seen 23 named storms, more than at any point since record keeping began in 1851. The previous record of 21 was set in 1933. The Manhattan-sized island of Providencia, located more than 110 miles (180 kilometers) off Central America's Caribbean coast, received a direct hit by Beta while it was still a tropical storm. --more 1135 Local Time 0835 GMT
