Monday, October 24, 2005 - 12:00 AM

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ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

Floodwaters resulting from Hurricane Wilma fill the hotel area in Cancún, Mexico, yesterday. Looters seized upon the chaos after Wilma to raid electrical, clothing and food stores in the resort city.



With Wilma out of Mexico, looting and riots take over

By WILL WEISSERT
The Associated Press

CANCÚN, Mexico — Mexicans and stranded tourists, hungry and frustrated after a two-day beating by Hurricane Wilma, stood in line to buy supplies yesterday 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.

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 chunks of concrete.

Downtown, officials feared looters would turn on tourists, so they 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, Cancún 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.

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 with aid could land. 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 found floating in floodwaters on Cozumel, but officials said it was unclear whether the deaths were related to the storm.

Last week, Wilma killed 13 people in Jamaica and Haiti.

For those in Mexico who endured two days of Wilma's howling winds and torrential rains, the cleanup began yesterday. Soldiers used bulldozers to clear tree branches from roads. Residents waded through submerged streets to check damage to homes or try to start flooded cars. Tourists tried to make arrangements to return home.

Dennis Catesby, of Coventry, England, hiked from a downtown shelter back to his hotel room with some friends to raid the minibar of beer and supplies. They decided against staying at the hotel, though, and hiked back to the shelter, stopping only to snap a photo in front of a smashed, roadside Jacuzzi.

"After three days in a shelter, it was minibar time for us," said Catesby, who was married in Cancún last Monday. "The beer is going to be free today."

Fox toured damaged areas yesterday and said he would ask lawmakers to budget $1.1 billion in disaster-relief funds for 2006, in part to help Mexico recover from Wilma. He said his main priority was rebuilding roads and other infrastructure to revive the country's $11 billion tourism industry, which took a devastating blow.

It was unclear when the Cancún airport would be operating again, and many hotels could take weeks — if not months — to repair.