Wilma kills 8 in southeast Mexico

Hurricane Wilma has killed at least eight people and wreaked havoc on infrastructures and properties in the southeast Mexico in the past two days, local media reported on Sunday.

Wilma left seven dead in the Quintana Roo state and another one in Yucatan, and affected at least 1 million people, the reports said.

The hurricane also caused severe damages to houses, hotels and telecommunication facilities in Quintana Roo, Governor Felix Gonzalez was quoted as saying.

In the top resort area of Cancun alone, 300,000 people were displaced, he added.

Wilma left Mexico on Sunday morning and headed towards Cuba and south Florida in the United States with gusts at 195 kph.

On Sunday, Mexican President Vicente Fox visited the hurricane-hit areas in the Yucatan Peninsula and the surrounding islands.

He said he will ask the Congress to increase emergency funding to Mexico's Natural Disaster Fund from 366 million US dollars to 1.1 billion dollars.

Last week, Wilma killed 13 people and forced the evacuation of 560,00 others in Jamaica and Haiti.

Source: Xinhua