Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (CBS) ― Hurricane Dean skirted the Cayman Islands on Monday and raced toward Mexico's resort-dotted Caribbean coast, where tens of thousands of tourists fled what could become a mammoth Category 5 storm.

The airport at Mexico's biggest resort, Cancun, was packed with departing tourists on Monday and the usually crowded hotel strip was nearly empty. Mexico's state oil company evacuated workers from rigs in the oil-rich Gulf of Campeche, in the storm's path.

Dean is cutting a wide swath, with tropical-storm strength winds covering an area of 75,000 square miles — roughly the size of the American state of South Dakota or roughly twice the size of South Korea.

But there was relief in the Cayman Islands. The government announced the territory "has been spared the brunt of Hurricane Dean."

Hours earlier, it looked like disaster was descending on the islands as the Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph — bore down late Sunday after battering Jamaica.

"Whichever God you believe in, now is the time to bow your head and pray to him," evacuation shelter coordinator Zemrie Thompson told 100 people camped for safety Sunday night at John Gray High School.

Dean's eye passed some 100 miles south of the Caymans and the government said the strongest gusts here were measured at 57 mph.

The storm has killed at least eight people as it has moved across the Caribbean.

The storm could reach the highest level, Category 5, with maximum winds greater than 155 mph later Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Stuart Jack, governor of the British territory, said Cayman Islands authorities had evacuated all but 1,500 tourists and set up 19 storm shelters that housed some 2,200 people.

Jamaica avoided a direct hit when the storm passed to the south Sunday night. The storm uprooted trees, flooded roads and tore the roofs off many homes, businesses and a prison block. No prisoners escaped.

Police said officers got into a shootout with looters at a shopping center in the central parish of Clarendon, but nobody was hurt. Curfews were in effect until Monday evening.

Authorities also cut power on the island to prevent damage to the power grid, leaving more than 125,000 customers without power.

As of 11 a.m. EDT, Dean was centered about 385 miles east of Belize City and was traveling west at about 21 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Many tourists who did not get flights out took shelter at places like Sandals Whitehouse, a resort that has buildings capable of withstanding a powerful storm.

The U.S. State Department has dispatched 30 officials from its embassy in Mexico City and consulates elsewhere in the country to assist Americans who may become stranded there. American officials will be available in Cancun, Cozumel and in Playa del Carmen, CBS News reporter Charlie Wolfson reported.

Trinice Tyler, a postal worker from Lake Elsinore, California, said she would weather the storm there "on my knees praying."

"I'm celebrating my 40th birthday today, and it's going to be a birthday to remember," she said.

Fishermen hauled their skiffs inland and cruise ships changed their course to avoid the storm on Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center said the first hurricane of the Atlantic season was projected to have sustained winds of 160 mph before plowing into Mexico's Yucatan peninsula on Tuesday. The Mexican mainland or Texas could be hit later.

There was also a hurricane warning in effect for Belize's coast.

Among those fleeing Cancun was Florida Volynskaya, 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, who camped out on the airport terminal's floor awaiting a flight.

"We just wanted to get out anywhere," she said. "We really didn't want to be in a shelter."

Twelve empty planes arrived Sunday to move travelers out, said airport spokesman Eduardo Rivadeneira. The state government also set up 530 shelters with a capacity of 73,000 people.

The hurricane created massive waves and surges up to 20 feet high as it passed the Dominican Republic on Saturday, flooding roads and drowning a boy. At least two people were killed and about 150 homes were destroyed in Haiti, emergency officials said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry mobilized the National Guard and search-and-rescue teams, shipped 60,000 to 80,000 barrels of gasoline to gas stations in the Rio Grande Valley, and got a pre-emptive federal disaster declaration from President Bush. The state also sent six C-130 aircraft to Cameron County in case any critically ill patients needed to be evacuated. Hundreds of buses were on standby for possible evacuations.

In Brownsville, a Home Depot store ran out of plywood as residents rushed to board up windows, and about 60 people waited in line for a new shipment to arrive. Other customers crowded the store scooping up batteries, generators and flashlights, assistant store manager Edward Gonzalez said.

"We're hoping it misses us, but it is a huge, huge storm," said Gonzalez. "Everyone says they're not going to take chances."

Three Texas prisons near the coast and a youth facility also relocated inmates and staff farther inland. Michelle Lyons, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman said Sunday night that the move had gone smoothly.

Even baseball was called off as a precaution. The United League canceled its final three regular season minor league baseball games.

"With four of our teams playing in the Rio Grande Valley and the impending threat of Hurricane Dean hitting landfall in the Valley, public safety necessitates this action," League President Craig Brasfield said.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)