Close lunar orbit causes high waves in Honduras

[March 26, 2011]  TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- The Honduran government says unusually high waves almost 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall have destroyed more than a dozen food stalls and homes and a lot of palm trees on the country's Pacific Coast.

Honduras' Permanent Contingency Commission says no one was injured in the inundation Thursday.

The waves washed nearly 200 feet (60 meters) inland in a tourist zone about 93 miles (150 kilometers) south of Tegucigalpa.

The commission says the waves were caused by the gravity of the moon, whose elliptical orbit last week reached its closest point to Earth since 1993. The phenomenon can cause abnormally high tides.

The commission is urging 20,000 people in 30 Honduran communities to take precautions and stay away from the beaches.

[Associated Press]

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