The White House, meanwhile, announced that President George W. Bush, the governor's brother, would visit the hurricane-damaged region Thursday.

In Mexico, officials estimated damage from the ferocious storm was costing 15 million dollars a day in lost tourism revenue from the glitzy Yucatan peninsula, while in Cuba tourism officials said the sector would be back on its feet in a week.

At least nine people died in Florida in connection with the storm that pummeled much of the Florida peninsula Monday, according to police and local media.

Hurricane damages were estimated between four and eight billion dollars in Florida, California-based risk analysis firm EQECAT said.

Before hitting Florida, Wilma had devastated Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and Cozumel island, leaving at least 10 people dead. Four people died in Cuba during pre-storm evacuations.

In Florida, all along the eastern coast, the same scene of desperation repeated itself. Thousands of people filled the streets in search of water, ice, food and gasoline (petrol) they needed to cope with widespread power outages.

Some six million people were still without electricity. The lack of power made restoring water pressure difficult.

More than 70 distribution points for water, ice and food had been opened in the state, the governor said, and their number should increase to more than 80 in the next few days.

Nevertheless, many of the aid centers did not function as expected Tuesday, and supplies were snapped up Wednesday as people waited in long lines for scarce aid.

The snags sparked criticisms of the state and federal governments, especially the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), still under fire for its slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in late August.

The complex aid system "didn't work as it should yesterday, and I probably raised the bar too high... we did not meet those expectations and I accept responsibility for that," Governor Bush said at a news conference.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez said the provisions sent by FEMA to his county had already run out.

"Everything that the federal government has provided to us has been distributed... we're not holding back anything," he told reporters.

"It's the process and how it's structured, and it's flawed... and I'm not blaming anyone," he said, adding that the delivery of aid to the people had been bogged down for hours in red tape.

Acknowleding that people were "frustrated, disappointed, angry," the mayor said: "I think the system needs to be reviewed."

David Paulison, FEMA's acting director and a former chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, said the long lines seen Tuesday could have been avoided.

"That's why we tell people, have 72 hours of food and water, so you don't have to stand in line," Paulison said. "But regardless, we're going to make sure to increase the supply line."

related report
Throngs Wait For Aid After Wilma Knocks Out Power In Florida
Miami FL (AFP) Oct 25 -- Frustrated throngs waited in huge lines for ice and water in Florida Tuesday after Hurricane Wilma crushed the southern US state, knocking out power to six million people and killing at least four.

The storm left at least 18 people dead in its destructive march across Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, Cuba and Florida.

Floridians from Naples on the west coast to Miami on the east coast were removing tree branches in littered streets and looking for supplies after Wilma cut across the state Monday, barreling in from the Gulf of Mexico before crashing into the Atlantic.

More than 35,000 people remained in shelters, according to the Red Cross, and local reports said the storm had killed at least four people. The Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports remained closed to commercial flights.

Authorities began distributing water and ice to residents in southern Florida, but the operation was already being criticized as people waited for hours in huge lines for supplies that sometimes had yet to arrive.

At Miami's Orange Bowl stadium, converted into one of 14 aid distribution centers, throngs lined up to receive ice and drinking water.

Some people complained of waiting in line for seven hours.

"We all know that sometimes things don't go perfectly, but they are fixed," said Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who was supervising the distribution of aid at the stadium.

Diaz said thousands of people had already received supplies at the stadium and that food would be available later in the day or Wednesday.

In other distribution centers, the aid arrived late or people were still waiting for it in the late afternoon.

North of Miami in Broward County, some of the 21 distribution posts had yet to open.

"What happened today is unacceptable," fumed state Senator Ron Klein, who represents Broward and Palm Beach.

"If (retail store) Wal-Mart can get their trucks from one location to another and know exactly where the truck is, there is no reason why our local government and the federal government can't do the same," he said at a news conference.

Due to the lack of electricity, curfews were put in place in a dozen cities or counties to avoid night accidents, when drivers are at risk of hitting debris.

In Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, where at least 10 were reported dead after Wilma slammed the tourist region over the weekend, curfews were put in place to curb looters who had taken advantage of the post-storm chaos.

Hundreds of troops were deployed to the resort city of Cancun to bolster local police overwhelmed by the devastation and the crime wave Wilma left in its wake.

A curfew was also ordered on Cozumel, the resort island off the Cancun coast.

At least 370 people have been arrested, said police official Jaime Ongay.

"The situation is now under control," said Ruben Aguilar, spokesman for Mexican president Vicente Fox. "The city police were overwhelmed."

Some 30,000 tourists, mainly Americans and Europeans, were in the region when Wilma threatened Mexico and thousands had taken refuge in local shelters.

At least 20,000 tourists were flown out of the Yucatan in the last two days, authorities said.

At least four people were reported killed during pre-storm evacuations in Cuba, whose capital Havana and other cities were flooded Monday after Wilma triggered huge waves.

Cubans rose early to begin cleaning mud out of the first floors of their homes and searching for food in the few markets and shops that opened Tuesday.

"I have no place to sleep or anything," said Arelis de la Caridad, 32, homemaker, in Santa Fe, 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Havana. "When the sea is angry, no one can stop it."

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