CAIRO, Egypt - January 31, 2011 - After 24 years in Canada, Rafik and Leila Baladi moved back to Cairo two weeks ago to settle down.

Now, like many other residents of the Egyptian capital, they're stocking up on bottled water and essential foodstuffs as chaos engulfs this sprawling city of some 18 million.

"We just don't know what is going to happen," said Leila, who along with her husband was pushing a shopping cart loaded with frozen chicken breasts, fava beans, milk and other items at a grocery store in central Cairo. "People are terrified to death."

Everyday life in Cairo has been turned upside down by the largest anti-government protests in decades in Egypt, which began last Tuesday and have surged since then.

Schools are closed and businesses boarded up; the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic is now little more than a trickle; and the capital's famed nightlife has been snuffed out by a 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. curfew. On Monday the military extended the hours, saying curfew would start at 3:00 p.m.

Even the Internet and text message services have been blocked for days.

The overriding concern for almost everyone in Cairo remains the fear of lawlessness.

"There's no cash in the ATMs, there's something like 5,000 prisoners roaming the streets and there's no security," said May Sadek, a public relations agent who lives in the middle class Dokki neighborhood. There have been jailbreaks from at least four prisons around Cairo in recent days.

The police, which before the revolt could be seen on nearly every corner, melted away Friday, giving way to looting and arson. Gangs of thugs have cleared out supermarkets, shopping malls and stores, as well as luxury homes and apartments in affluent residential areas in the suburbs. On Monday, police were beginning to redeploy in many neighborhoods.

But in the meantime, young men stepped in to fill the vacuum left by the police, setting up neighborhood defense committees armed with guns, clubs and knives to protect their families and property. Groups of youths also directed traffic in parts of Cairo, chasing away gangs of criminals smashing passing cars.