Canadians with loved ones in Egypt were glued to computer screens and waiting by the phone Friday as they hoped to hear from family and friends in the North African country being swept with violent protests demanding an end to an autocratic era.

B.C.'s Candace Furneaux was just one of many Canadians desperate to hear from family in Egypt.

Her 26-year-old daughter was backpacking through the country when riots engulfed the nation. She's now holed up in a hostel in Cairo, but can't be reached by family because the country's government has cut off all Internet and cellphone coverage in an attempt to stop protesters from organizing.

"She decided to take a dream trip and go and see the pyramids and certainly did not expect to wind up in the middle of civil unrest," Furneaux said.

"She's trapped in a hostel. Hopefully she's not right downtown, we haven't been able to verify where exactly she is, but she seems to be on the periphery. I don't know if she can get to our consulate."

Furneaux, who lives in suburban Vancouver, has watched television coverage of the events in Egypt with mounting worry, wracking her brains to figure out a way to get in touch with her daughter.

She received a text from her daughter on Thursday night saying she was okay. But after that, silence.

"There's no way to get any messages in or out now. I'm hoping to find a news person on the ground that we can get some kind of message to her or give her some mechanism to get one out for us."

Furneaux said she doesn't know if her daughter can even get food because all the tourist facilities, including restaurants, are closed.

Not knowing her daughter's whereabouts has been an excruciating experience for Furneaux, even though the young woman is an experienced traveller.

"I've been out since the crack of dawn and I've been walking out in this rain just to take a break from CNN because it's driving me crazy. It's a pretty tough time holding your breath."

Many in the Egyptian-Canadian community are in similar situations, wondering how their families are faring.

Heidi Abadier's mother and brother had travelled to Egypt recently from Vancouver.

"The latest I heard from them was last night. They said, 'starting tomorrow you won't get a hold of us,"' Abadier said.

"They said that every-day life is not impacted. I don't know if they were cautious because the phones are monitored but I am worried for sure," Abadier said.

Meanwhile, several Canadians in the capital are trying to get flights out of the country.

The manager of a hostel blocks from where rioting is taking place in Cairo said all his Canadian customers have fled out of fear of the escalating violence.

There had been 12 Canadians staying at the Canadian Hostel, located just steps away from Tahrir Square where the police and protesters have been clashing.

"There were some that weren't scheduled to leave until tomorrow but they left this morning just out of fear," Methat Maher said in a telephone interview from Cairo late Friday. "No one is hurt but they were very concerned that leaving to the airport they might be attacked," said Maher.

Canada's Foreign Affairs Department updated its travel advisory to Cairo, Alexandria and Suez on Friday urging Canadians to exercise a "high degree of caution."

The department urged any Canadians that must be in Egypt to avoid "all demonstrations and to stay away from areas where they are expected to take place, as they may turn violent without warning."

The department did not respond to requests on how many Canadians are in Egypt or if any steps are being taken to secure their safe return to Canada.

Much of Egypt has tumbled into chaos as rioters take to the streets demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down and that action be taken to address the country's widespread poverty.

Police cracked down on the tens of thousands of demonstrators and Mubarak's nationally televised address late Friday night didn't help quell the anger.

"We want more democracy, more efforts to combat unemployment and poverty and combat corruption," Mubarak said, calling the protests "part of a bigger plot to shake the stability and destroy the legitimacy" of the political system.

Despite a curfew imposed by the government from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., demonstrators took to the streets in a rare act of defiance hardly seen under President Mubarak's regime.

Social network sites like Facebook and Twitter have been sporadically shut down in an attempt to crush efforts to organize protests or disseminate information. Almost all of the Internet Service Providers have been taken off-line Friday in a day described by Egyptians as the day of anger. Egypt's ability to suddenly disconnect tens of millions of people from the Internet is one that is being criticized by governments and rights groups.

Foreign journalists reporting from Egypt have been relying on other means of communication to deliver images and stories of the current situation.

Mubarak fired his cabinet early Saturday and promised reforms as the protests mounted what's considered the biggest challenge to his 30-year rule.

President Barak Obama criticized Mubarak's response and threatened to reduce a $1.5-billion program of foreign aid if Egypt escalated the use of force.

"This moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise," Obama said.