Thousands of Haitians lined up at money transfer offices here on Tuesday, crowding windows and arguing with the police as they waited as long as 10 hours to collect small cash infusions wired from relatives abroad. Haitian government officials said that they were still trying to determine how much money was pouring in, but that after two weeks without remittances because of the earthquake, there appeared to be a significant spike, which they welcomed. Since the 1990s, the Haitian economy has turned increasingly reliant on cash wire transfers sent to relatives by the 1 million to 2 million Haitians who have left for the United States, the Dominican Republic and other countries. The World Bank has estimated that remittances make up as much as 30 percent of the country's gross domestic product, triple the level in 1998, and more than twice the earnings from exports. Each year, Haitians abroad send back more than $1.5 billion in small amounts: Most families receive about $150 a month, according to one World Bank report. The money is usually used for basic necessities, and in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake on Jan. 12, the need has increased along with the wait times and the tension. There simply are not enough open offices. MoneyGram International said that 40 of its 130 money-transfer agents had reopened, but that only eight of those were in or around Port-au-Prince. The results have been crowds and complaints. At a CAM money transfer office in the city's Nazon section on Tuesday afternoon, at least 300 people, in two lines running in opposite directions on a busy street, shoved, shouted and tried to stay patient. Bernadette Norbrum, 38, shifted from foot to foot, and looked angry. She said she had come from a neighborhood on the city's edge, arriving in the dark at 4 a.m. She still had a long way to go -- about 50 people stood in front of her. With each passing minute, she became more anxious. She was waiting for $70 from a sister in Miami, whose 18-year-old daughter was in a local hospital, awaiting a prescription. Norbrum said she had already seen another sister die after the earthquake because she did not have money for treatment. 'The problem is, I lost someone already because I couldn't get her medication,' Norbrum said. 'Now I might lose another because of the delay.' 