Hurricane Wilma's waves crash into Havana
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-24 16:00

Some residents and tourists stood in line to buy supplies on Sunday, as showers tapered off. Others raided groceries and hotel mini-bars — or dragged away furniture and appliances.

Dozens were arrested as military officials and police set up patrols and checkpoints to seize looted goods.

Mexican officials said at least three people were killed during the storm. Last week, Wilma killed 13 people in Jamaica and Haiti.

Late Sunday, Cuban President Fidel Castro appeared on a television program to calm Cubans anticipating increased winds and flooding as Wilma passed overhead en route to southwestern Florida. He also offered Cuban doctors to Mexico to help the neighboring nation recover from the natural disaster.

Castro praised the island's efficiency in hurricane preparation, saying that despite scarce resources, Cuba has become internationally recognized as "a model country that protects the lives of its citizens."

Cuban President Fidel Castro (L) and Cuba's chief weather forecaster Jose Rubiera talk about Hurricane Wilma during a live television program in Havana, October 23, 2005.[Reuters]

Cuba prides itself on saving lives during hurricanes, and its civil defense plans have been held up by the United Nations as a model for other nations. Mandatory, widespread evacuations are common and face little resistance.

The government in recent days evacuated more than 625,000 people, particularly in the island's west.

Guanimar, a small fishing village of brightly painted wooden houses due south of Havana, was totally under water Sunday, with floodwaters as high as 3 feet in some places. The community frequently floods during hurricanes and its several hundred residents were evacuated as a precaution.