[Sam Cree]

Hard to tell about the beaches, the ocean probably still hasn't receded completely?

I am curious as to how they fared down there, though. Remembering the amount of damage done here by Andrew, which didn't hang around, but moved through at 20 mph. Understanding that Wilma's winds were cat 4, but would have gradually dropped as the day wore on, but still.

[laz]

Wilma sitting on them for a whole day like that made her basically a meat grinder. The cumulative effect of all that pounding, hour after hour, was probably worse than if she had moved through at a normal pace as a Cat 5. She was literally parked on top of them, scouring them.

According to reports, Playa del Carmen is destroyed. It was right in the western eyewall for several hours when Wilma stalled the first time, directly over Cozumel. Several hours of continuous 140 mph winds, with higher gusts.