CANCUN, Mexico, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Waves and storm surge from the giant Hurricane Dean which struck Mexico on Tuesday may have damaged Cancun's famous beaches, still recovering from a huge loss of sand in a hurricane two years ago.

Residents of the resort and tourists said Dean had now swept away more sand on parts of the beach, once a wide stretch of white sand.

City authorities were checking for damage.

"They have just gone to inspect it and we will know this afternoon but, yes, there is quite a bit of damage on one or two beaches," said Reina Gil, head of Cancun city administration's ecology department.

Dean crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula south of Cancun as a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm -- the most powerful kind of hurricane -- but there were no reports of death or serious damage.

Cancun, which plays a major role in generating Mexico's foreign exchange income from tourism, was badly hit in 2005 by Hurricane Wilma that mauled at hotels with high winds, flooded the resort and washed away large parts of the eight-mile (13-km) beach strip.

The beach was restored in 2006 with sand brought from sandbanks out in the Caribbean at the cost of around $20 million.

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