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MIAMI, (Florida), Oct 25 (AFP): Hurricane Wilma sped northward along the eastern US coast early Tuesday after cutting furiously across Florida, killing at least four people, leaving more than three million homes without power and churning huge waves that flooded Cuba's capital Havana.
The storm killed at least 10 people in its violent passage through Mexico's Yucatan peninsula over the weekend, where tens of thousands of American and European tourists were forced to flee resorts or hide in shelters.
In Florida, The Miami Herald said the storm killed at least four people: two men by falling trees, a woman by flying debris and another man by a collapsing roof.
In Cuba, four people, including three foreign tourists, died in a bus accident as they evacuated Friday before the storm slammed the island.
Wilma slashed across Florida as a category two storm in the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale before regaining strength just off the Atlantic coast, where it grew into a category three hurricane, with winds near 205 kilometers (125 miles) per hour, said the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).
"Wilma beginning to weaken as it reaces northeastward," the center said at 0900 GMT. "Additional weakening is forecast... and Wilma is expected to lose tropical characteristics during the next day or so."
Wilma was about 505 kilometers (310 miles) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, speeding northeastward at 85 kilometers (53 miles) per hour, with winds near 185 kilometers (115 miles) per hour -- still a category three.
While the storm was pulling offshore and not directly affecting the US east coast, "high surf is presently occurring along the mid-Atlantic states," the NHC said. It was expected to reach Canadian waters by early Wednesday.
The storm left about 3.2 million homes without power in southeast Florida, affecting some six million people, according to Florida Power and Light. It will take weeks to restore power to all customers, the company said.
Governor Jeb Bush had urged residents who missed the chance to flee to stay indoors.
"Just stay in your homes until the storm has passed," he said.
The acting chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Paulison, urged those who evacuated to wait until authorities give them the green light to go home.
"Please, please don't go back until the local emergency managers tell you it's safe to go back," Paulison said in a news conference.
But many had ignored the evacuation calls in the southwest city of Naples and in the Florida Keys island chain south of Florida.
Jeb Bush's brother, President George W. Bush, declared a major disaster in Florida, releasing federal funds to supplement state and local recovery efforts, and that emergency aid was ready to be deployed.
"We have prepositioned food, medicine, communications equipment, urban search and rescue teams," Bush said.
Bush was keen to show the government was well prepared for the disaster after his administration was heavily criticized for its slow response to Hurricane Katrina, which claimed more than 1,200 lives after striking the southern US coast on August 29.
The Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, where the space shuttle is launched, shut down and told employees to stay home Monday.
Wilma could add as much as 10 billion dollars to US insurance companies' already hefty hurricane bill, insurance estimators said.
South of the Florida Keys in Cuba, some Havana residents said it was the worst storm they had seen.
"I'm terrified, this was apocalyptic and the worst is yet to come," said Olga Salinas, 58, trapped on the second floor of her house in the flooded Miramar district of Havana.
In Mexico, some 250 police and troops patrolled the streets of Cancun to deter looters. Authorities fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse looters overnight, a municipal official said. A curfew was in place.
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