CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: CNN Student News is back with a brand new edition, and we're glad to have you with us. I'm Carl Azuz. Under the weather: A deadly storm slams into Mexico as a rare Category 5 hurricane and drenches its way across the country's Yucatan Peninsula. Withstanding the storm: The ruins of an ancient civilization are still standing strong after taking a pounding from the rain and winds of Hurricane Dean. And back on the planet: The Endeavour crew is safe on the ground after returning a day early from their mission to the International Space Station.

AZUZ: The cleanup is on in Mexico after a killer hurricane slammed ashore. Hurricane Dean struck the country's Yucatan Peninsula yesterday. It lost intensity as it marched across the region, but forecasters expected the storm to pick up speed as it moved back over water and headed for central Mexico. Now if you were with us yesterday, you know that Dean strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane before it came ashore. The eye of the massive storm passed south of several large resort cities, but Dean's effects were felt up and down the coast. Listen in now as reporters talk about the strength of the hurricane.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN REPORTER: Stronger winds and more rain announced landfall by Hurricane Dean near Chetumal, the capital of the state of Quitana Roo. Winds are quite strong now. No electricity at least in this part of town. At this point, for the next several hours, all people can really do is wait to see how quickly it will pass through the region.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hurricane Dean has made landfall just to the south of where I'm standing, and we are feeling the effects, no doubt about that. It is blowing sideways and now the rain is coming down. Take a look at what's going on behind me. This surf, just in the last 20 minutes, has come up about 10 feet. I'm going to shine some light for you and you can get an idea just how angry that sea is.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: This is a Category 5, the strongest hurricane that forms. We're talking about sustained winds of 160 miles per hour.

PATRICK JONES, FM LOVE TELEVISION, BELIZE CITY: We are just waiting now for the winds to die down somewhat so that we can get out there and survey the damage and get the first pictures of what Hurricane Dean has done to northern Belize.

JASON CARROLL, CNN REPORTER: Basically what happened was our camera actually somehow became charged and got shocked so much so that Walter, our cameraman, can't even pick up the camera at this point.

AZUZ: Well, you just got a sense of it. Hurricane Dean flooded streets and damaged buildings as it made landfall. But populated areas were spared the full force of the storm. Mexico's president expressed his concern for the region's Maya communities, which were hit hard. Tulum is one of the more popular destinations in the area. It's home to ruins from the ancient Mayan civilization, and some of the buildings there are more than a thousand years old. But Gary Tuchman explains that the tourist spot looks to have held up against the fury of Hurricane Dean just fine.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN REPORTER: Police officials in Tulum are telling us the buildings did fine. The main reason for that: The eye of the hurricane passed about 80-90 miles to the south. The damage in Tulum, while there was some, was not significant, certainly not catastophic. And most of the homes of the 10,000 people who live there are fine too. So that's the good news.

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for some Fast Facts! The Mayan civilization is one of the great mysteries of the past, mainly because no one knows what happened to it! We do know that the Maya had one of the Western Hemisphere's greatest civilizations, first flourishing from about 300 to 900 A.D. Today, around 70 Mayan languages are still spoken. And as you just heard, the ruined cities that the Maya left behind have withstood hurricanes, as well as the test of time.

AZUZ: When you're dealing with a hurricane, especially one as powerful as Dean, there are lots of preparations to make before it strikes. But there are also concerns after the hurricane has passed. Doctor Sanjay Gupta fills us in on some of the health issues that follow a major storm and what plans are in place to address them.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are many different health concerns that are going to sort of crop up over the next several hours and days. This is an area of the world that has dealt with these sorts of hurricanes before, more specifically Wilma. And that's important for a couple of reasons. One is that the hospitals are designed to be able to take care of the types of injuries that might be associated with hurricanes. And also the shelters that we've been talking so much about, the hundreds of shelters in that area of the country as well, have actually withstood previous hurricanes and that's how they've become to be designated as shelters.

Now in the immediate term, there obviously are concerns about near drownings, there are concerns about possible electrocution, and there are concerns about traumatic injuries. A couple of things about that: They actually turned the power off to many of the lines, so that you don't have the combination of the electricity from those lines and water. A very important point. In the shorter term, you obviously have concerns about dehydration, exposure to elements, people being just simply being left out of their homes. That's obviously of concern as well. But there are several relief organizations sort of positioned either in Belize or north of this particular area in Mexico actually designed to go in with tents and tarps and all sorts of relief supplies to try and take care of that. Also drinking water. I've heard a lot about the fact that flooding might actually contaminate the drinking water supply. Something as simple as chlorine tablets may actually help the drinking water become more drinkable if it's contaminated.

And in the longer term, this is where it becomes concerning, is that you have, for example, the Mexican army at the level of DN3, which means that they are in the position to take care of natural disasters. That might mean rebuilding roads, re-establishing communication, but also providing things like tetanus shots. People stepping on rusty nails. All of this will unfold over the next several hours and next several days. Getting people out of the shelters back into their homes, making sure that the roads and communications systems are up. The relief organizations are going to come in and help. So this will all take place and we'll certainly keep you posted as it develops. Back to you.

AZUZ: Thanks Sanjay. And for more info on a topic Doctor Gupta mentioned in that report, here's today's Word to the Wise!

RAMSAY: A Word to the Wise...

potable (adjective) suitable for drinking; as in the sentence: After any natural disaster, it's important for residents to have potable water.

Source: www.m-w.com

AZUZ: Hurricane Dean isn't just causing concerns here on Earth. What? Well, the repercussions of the storm reach all the way out into space! The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour now is back home after NASA decided to cut their mission to the International Space Station short because of Dean. Kate Bolduan fills us in on what tasks the astronauts completed during their 13-day space trip, and she explains why the hurricane prompted the early return of the shuttle.

NASA: Congratulations. Welcome home. You've given a new meaning to higher education.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN REPORTER : The seven-astronaut crew of space shuttle Endeavour safely on the ground after concerns about Hurricane Dean cut their mission a day short.

CREW MEMBER: Holy smokes, that's impressive!

BOLDUAN: Initially there were concerns the hurricane could head towards Houston and disable mission control. Before there was Dean to worry about, officials investigated a softball-sized gouge in the shuttle's heat shield inflicted seconds after liftoff, when foam broke away from the fuel tank, striking the underside of the craft. Although NASA decided not to repair the damaged site in space, once back on Earth, officials wasted no time examining the two-and-a-half by three-and-a-half inch gouge.

NASA REPRESENTATIVE, POST-LANDING BRIEFING: I think we're going to continue to keep learning, continue to keep improving, and I think we'll still expect to see some things come off and we will have to analyze.

BOLDUAN: The crew completed four spacewalks to work on the space station. They installed a new beam and replaced a gyroscope. Endeavour's voyage also marks the long-awaited flight of teacher in space Barbara Morgan. She answered kids' questions about space from space.

BARBARA MORGAN, TEACHER IN SPACE, NASA: The biggest surprise is how easy it is for things to just disappear in space, no matter how many times you tie it down.

BOLDUAN: Amidst those problems threatening their return, the Endeavour crew is back home, successfully completing the 119th shuttle mission. At the Kennedy Space Center, I'm Kate Bolduan for CNN Student News.

AZUZ: We've got a new online address and we're showcasing some of the new features on our site all week here on CNN Student News. Today we're checking out what's "In the Spotlight." If you want to get a more in-depth look at some of the stories in our show, this is the place to go. And you can find it every day at CNNStudentNews.com.

AZUZ: Before we go, we've got an animal tale that'll perk up your ears. You might have seen a hairy ear, but check out this eerie hare! He's cute, he's furry and he's always listening. You're not seeing double. Pete the rabbit's just hearing quadruple! The astonishing animal has an ample amount of audio receptors. Pete's neighbors think he was born with the extra set of ears, and they're more than happy to show off the wild hare. After all, once other people see those four floppy hearing aids, they know a four-eared rabbit is no bunny tale.

TOM EMERY, NEIGHBOR: Just enjoy the fact that you got to come out and see him. And I've got somebody that believes me now that we've got a little rabbit with four ears.

AZUZ: And that's where we hop across the finish line. We'll see you tomorrow for more CNN Student News. Thanks for watching, everybody. I'm Carl Azuz.