At least 12 people have died as Hurricane Wilma roared toward Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and southern Florida.
The hurricane has already forced the evacuation of tens of thousands in coastal areas from Honduras to the Florida Keys.
Tourists were ordered out of the Florida Keys and the island of Isla Mujeres near Cancun on Wednesday and authorities were poised to move out thousands of others from low-lying areas in a 600-mile swathe covering Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Cayman Islands.
"People should take this hurricane very seriously," said Scott McClellan, spokesman for US president George Bush.
"The potential for large loss of life is with us," said Max Mayfield, the director of the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami, referring to Wilma's possible landfall in Florida on Saturday.
Some of the estimated 70,000 tourists still in Cancun and surrounding areas were taking the warnings more seriously than others. The Senor Frog's restaurant in Cancun sponsored a "Hurricane Wilma" party, but it was far from full.
Standing knee-deep in the ocean and drinking beer in Playa de Carmen, south of Cancun, Mike Goepfrich, of Minneapolis, Minnesota said: "As long as they give me beer in the shelter, and my kids are safe, we'll be fine. We're going to ride it out here".
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The hurricane has already forced the evacuation of tens of thousands in coastal areas from Honduras to the Florida Keys.
Tourists were ordered out of the Florida Keys and the island of Isla Mujeres near Cancun on Wednesday and authorities were poised to move out thousands of others from low-lying areas in a 600-mile swathe covering Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Cayman Islands.
"People should take this hurricane very seriously," said Scott McClellan, spokesman for US president George Bush.
"The potential for large loss of life is with us," said Max Mayfield, the director of the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami, referring to Wilma's possible landfall in Florida on Saturday.
Some of the estimated 70,000 tourists still in Cancun and surrounding areas were taking the warnings more seriously than others. The Senor Frog's restaurant in Cancun sponsored a "Hurricane Wilma" party, but it was far from full.
Standing knee-deep in the ocean and drinking beer in Playa de Carmen, south of Cancun, Mike Goepfrich, of Minneapolis, Minnesota said: "As long as they give me beer in the shelter, and my kids are safe, we'll be fine. We're going to ride it out here".
Source