Cancun, Mexico – Mexicans and stranded tourists, hungry and frustrated after a two- day beating by Hurricane Wilma, stood in line to buy supplies Sunday or simply raided grocery or furniture stores, dragging goods from shops ripped open by the storm.
The hurricane’s steady march away from the Yucatan Peninsula meant an end to two days of howling winds and torrential rains that shattered windows, peeled away roofing and sent the ocean crashing into hotel lobbies. The sun emerged over Mexico’s sugar-white Caribbean beaches.
But another kind of chaos took over, as police shot into the air to scare looters away from a shopping center, and looters responded by throwing rocks and chucks of concrete.
Downtown, officials feared looters would turn on tourists, so they quickly evacuated more than 30 foreigners from a downtown area overrun by people raiding stores. Military officials and police stood guard outside businesses and set up checkpoints to seize stolen goods.
“It’s chaos,” said fire official Gregorio Vergara. “They are taking things all over the city.”
One group of residents pushed carts against the boarded-up windows of a grocery store in an attempt to break in. At a convenience store, Cancun resident Alex Aguilar took batteries and aspirin.
“The window was broken, so we just went in and got what we wanted,” he said.
Others waited in long lines at the few stores that were open.
Some American tourists without local currency offered $100 bills for $5 calling cards.
Meanwhile, military aid convoys rolled into the resort town, handing out bottled water and medical aid. City officials distributed food packages of rice, beans, crackers and cooking oil to people standing in lines that stretched for blocks.
Larry Lowman of Beaufort, S.C., carried away armloads of emergency supplies for the shelter where he was staying.
“It’s an expedition to bring food for everybody,” he said.
There was little food left on the isolated island of Cozumel, as well, making some people anxious.
“Right now, there is nothing to buy on the island,” resident Daniela Ayala said by telephone. “People are in the streets looking for food, and they are starting to get desperate.”
The storm knocked out many of the island’s docks, making it difficult for navy ships to arrive. State officials were trying to clear airstrips on Cozumel and nearby Isla Mujeres so that planes could land with aid. President Vicente Fox said the government would send helicopters as well.
State officials said at least three people died during the storm: one by a falling tree and two others when a gas tank exploded. Also, four badly decomposed bodies were found floating in floodwaters on Cozumel, but officials said it was unclear if the deaths were related to the storm.
Last week, Wilma killed 13 people in Jamaica and Haiti.
The hurricane, which had weakened to a Category 2 after making landfall, drenched western Cuba with heavy rains and flooded communities along the coast.
Officials had evacuated more than 625,000 people from their homes in recent days.
Rainfall of up to 15 inches was possible in some parts of the country, but Wilma was not expected to make landfall in Cuba.
