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."