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 toward southern Florida meant an end here 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.
Wilma regained its Category 3 status late Sunday, with sustained winds of 115 mph, after it returned to open waters and headed toward southern Florida, the National Hurricane Center said. It had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane after making landfall in Mexico.
In Cancun, chaos took over, as police shot into the air to scare looters away from a shopping center, and looters responded by throwing rocks and chunks 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.
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.
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.
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. Four badly decomposed bodies were also found floating in flood waters 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.
PHOTO CAPTION
A soldier arrests a man who was with a group of people allegedly looting at a shopping center in Cancun, Mexico, Sunday Oct. 23, 2005. (AP)