term residents feared a repeat of Hurricane Gilbert, which tore up Cancun in 1988, razing homes, scarring beaches and killing hundreds. The worst hurricane since was Isidore, which washed away beach huts, cut off power and destroyed swathes of Yucatan jungle and mangroves in 2002. Cancun's concrete hotels are mostly able to resist high winds, but thousands of Mexicans in the area live in ramshackle homes and the flat terrain offers little protection. State oil monopoly Pemex, a major supplier to the United States, shut 63 oil wells in the southern Gulf of Mexico and evacuated some 15,000 nonessential workers from offshore rigs. The closures will hold back a quarter of daily output. Tiny Belize, which borders the Yucatan to the south, issued a tropical storm warning. Western Cuba was also facing storms.
