HURRICANE SEASON 2008

[Bianca]

                                 Some refuse to evacuate as Ike closes in on Texas







By JUAN A. LOZANO,
Associated Press Writer

11 minutes ago

Sept. 12, 2008
 
HOUSTON - Hurricane Ike, a colossal storm nearly as big as Texas itself, battered the coast Friday, threatening to obliterate waterfront towns and give the skyscrapers, refineries and docks of the nation's fourth-largest city their worst pounding in a generation.

But even as towering waves crashed over the 17-foot Galveston seawall and floodwaters rose in low-lying areas, it became clear that many of the 1 million coastal residents who had been ordered to get out refused to do so and were taking their chances.

Authorities in three counties alone said roughly 90,000 stayed behind, despite a warning from forecasters that many of those in one- or two-story homes faced "certain death."

"I believe in the man up there, God," said William Steally, a 75-year-old retiree who planned to ride out the storm in Galveston without his wife or sister-in-law. "I believe he will take care of me."

At about 600 miles across, the hurricane was a monster. As it zeroed in on the coast, it trapped 60 people who had to be rescued by helicopter from the floodwaters near Galveston, breached levees in rural Louisiana, and stranded 22 crewmen on a disabled 584-foot cargo ship in the Gulf.

Before sunset Friday, power had been knocked out to hundreds of thousands of customers in Louisiana and along the Texas coast. That number that was expected to climb quickly throughout the night, according to Centerpoint Energy, the primary electricity provider for the region.

As of 9 p.m. EDT, Ike was centered about 70 miles southeast of Galveston, moving at 13 mph. It was close to a Category 3 storm with winds of 110 mph, and was expected to strengthen by the time the eye hit land. Forecasters predicted it would come ashore somewhere near Galveston early Saturday and pass almost directly over Houston.

Because of the hurricane's size, the state's shallow coastal waters and its largely unprotected coastline, forecasters said the biggest threat would be flooding and storm surge, with Ike expected to hurl a wall of water two stories high — 20 to 25 feet — at the coast.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said more than 5.5 million prepackaged meals were being sent to the region, along with more than 230 generators and 5.6 million liters of water. At least 3,500 FEMA officials were stationed in Texas and Louisiana.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday asked President Bush for a "wide-reaching emergency declaration" in all 88 counties being affected. Perry said this declaration would ensure 100 percent reimbursement for all storm-related costs.

In Houston, authorities instructed most of the city's 2 million residents to just hunker down to avoid highway gridlock.

Still, authorities warned the storm could travel up Galveston Bay and send a surge up the Houston Ship Channel and into the port of Houston, the nation's second-busiest port — an economically vital complex of docks, pipelines, depots and warehouses that receives automobiles, consumer products, industrial equipment and other cargo from around the world and ships out vast amounts of petrochemicals and agricultural products.

The oil and gas industry was also closely watching Ike because it was headed straight for the nation's biggest complex of refineries and petrochemical plants. Wholesale gasoline prices jumped to around $4.85 a gallon for fear of shortages.

The storm could also force water up the seven bayous that thread through Houston, swamping neighborhoods so flood-prone that they get inundated during ordinary rainstorms.

Bachir Annane, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Research Division, said Ike's surge could be catastrophic, and like nothing the Texas coast has ever seen.

"Wind doesn't tell the whole story," Annane said. "It's the size that tells the story, and this is a giant."

Ike would be the first major hurricane to hit a U.S. metropolitan area since Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago. For Houston, it would be the first major hurricane since Alicia in August 1983 came ashore on Galveston Island, killing 21 people and causing $2 billion in damage. Houston has since then seen a population explosion, so many of the residents now in the storm's path have never experienced the full wrath of a hurricane.

In southeastern Louisiana near Houma, Ike breached levees, threatening thousands of homes of fishermen, oil-field workers, farmers and others.

Though Ike's center was heading for Texas, it spawned thunderstorms, shut down schools and knocked out power throughout southern Louisiana on Friday. An estimated 1,200 people were in state shelters in Monroe and Shreveport, and another 220 in medical needs shelters.

High winds forced the Air Force and Coast Guard to abort plans to send aircraft to the Gulf of Mexico in a daring attempt to rescue 22 crewmen adrift on a stalled freighter in rough seas 90 miles off Galveston.

In Galveston, a working-class town of about 57,000, waves crashed over the 11-mile seawall built a century ago, after the Great Storm of 1900 killed 6,000 residents. That hurricane remains the nation's deadliest natural disaster.

A boat and yacht repair warehouse caught fire and burned to the ground on Galveston Island because the streets were under at least 8 feet of water — too flooded for firetrucks to reach it, Galveston Fire Chief Michael Varela said. No one was believed hurt.

While the Galveston beachfront is dotted with new condominiums and some elegant beach homes on stilts, most people live in older, one-story bungalows. The National Weather Service warned "widespread and devastating" damage was expected.

In Surfside Beach, a town of 800, the police chief asked one stubborn couple, David and Dondi Fields, to write their names and Social Security numbers on their forearms with a black marker in case something bad happened to them.

Dondi Fields, 50, wrote "I heart U" and "for my kids" on her arm. But the couple finally decided to leave. Police used an aluminum boat to reach them, and a National Guard truck carried them to safety.

In Freeport, Drew Ryder, 47, took no chances. He left his plywood-covered home, heading north with coolers filled with food.

"It's coming, so I'm going," he said. "It's not smart to be here."

Houston's streets were eerily quiet. Skyscrapers were darkened, and sandbags protected the lobby doors to some.

Gloria Dulworth, who lives on the seventh of a high-rise apartment building, refused to let the storm dampen her plans to celebrate her 81st birthday.

"We're surrounded by glass, so I'm taking my crystal candlesticks down. It's been suggested that we roll the rugs away from the door," in case water seeps in. Other than that, said Dulworth, "I'm going to get some fresh veggies. I have cereal and canned milk. I anticipate being without air conditioning for a couple of weeks, but you can't do much."

___

Juan A. Lozano reported from Galveston.



Associated Press writers

Kelley Shannon in Austin,

Eileen Sullivan in Washington,

Paul Weber and Regina L. Burns in Dallas,

John Porretto,

Andre Coe and Pauline Arrillaga in Houston,

Diana Heidgerd in Dallas, and

Allen G. Breed and

video journalist Rich Matthews in Surfside Beach
also contributed.

Brian Skoloff also contributed from
West Palm Beach, Fla.

[Bianca]

Updated 25 minutes ago 




 
                                Texas officials: It's too late to get out, so stay put






NEW: Galveston under curfew from 8 p.m. ET Friday until dawn Monday

NEW: Official: Galveston is "flooding pretty severely right now"

200,000 people have fled low-lying areas near Houston, officials say

At 5 p.m. ET, Ike is a Category 2 but is expected to roar in as a Category 3


     
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- As Galveston's west end was deluged Friday, Houston officials warned residents to stay put because it was no longer safe to try to escape Hurricane Ike which has gotten stronger.

 
A Galveston Police officer helps residents evacuate as a house burns on Friday.

Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc warned that the worst was still to come.

"The island is flooding pretty severely right now," he said. "The west end is being torn up, pretty severely."

A KTRK-TV on-air reporter in Galveston said the power went out around 8:45 pm ET.




The Category 2 storm had 110 mph winds as of 7 p.m. ET, speed that has been steadily increasing with each advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

It is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday near Galveston, and by that time may have strengthened to a Category 3, forecasters say. 



Authorities in Galveston imposed a curfew to last until dawn Monday. The town of La Porte also instituted a curfew through 5 a.m. Saturday, the Houston Chronicle reported. iReport.com: Galveston Island seawall slammed

Houston's Harris County is under a curfew that begins at 7 p.m. ET to 6 a.m. Sunday.



Ike is 900 miles wide, measuring the cloud cover at its widest point.

On Friday, its tropical storm-force winds extended up to 275 miles -- the length of the Texas coastline -

- from its center, for a total reach of about 550 miles. 



Galveston had ordered evacuation of the island, but LeBlanc said about 40 percent of the city's 57,523 residents chose to stay. "It's unfortunate that the warnings that we sent out were not heeded," he said.  Watch: Residents have second thoughts, decide to evacuate »

LeBlanc said that by 9 p.m. all city personnel would be hunkered down and would not be able to respond to calls until after the storm passed.

Only a few more than 150 people were in a shelter of last resort, he said.  Watch Gen. Russel Honore detail the challenges of a large evacuation »

"My message now at this hour, if someone has not left the island by now, they need to go get inside and stay there until some time tomorrow morning when the hurricane has gone by," Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said Friday afternoon.





Latest on Ike



At 7 p.m. ET, center was 100 miles from Galveston, moving at 13 mph

Hurricane-force winds extend 120 miles from eye

Weather will get worse long before storm reaches coast

Hurricane warning in effect from north of Port Aransas, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana

Preparations should be "rushed to completion"

Storm surge expected to be 20 feet above normal tide level, 25 feet in some places



Source:

National Hurricane Center A fire broke out at a Galveston yacht basin, where boats are stored and fixed, said Galveston Fire Chief Michael Varela Sr., and firefighters were unable to reach it because the area was flooded with about 8 feet of water.

If the fire spreads, Varela said, firefighters may be able to contain portions of it. But he said he was more concerned that new fires might break out elsewhere in the city, where many spots are impassable.

About 200,000 residents have fled low-lying areas of metro Houston, which has 4 million residents.




Earlier Friday, authorities rescued more than 120 people stranded by rising seas along the southeast Texas coast.

But 22 people aboard a 584-foot Cyprus-flagged freighter were unable to be rescued by helicopter because winds were too strong, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

At 6 p.m. ET, Coast Guard officials said the freighter, which had stalled in the water when it lost power, had regained electricity. 




The military has 42 search-and-rescue helicopters on standby, one official said.

More than half of the community of Surfside Beach was inundated by 8 a.m. Friday, and rescuers drove a dumptruck through the streets in a final bid to get people out before the storm hits, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Roughly 3.5 million people live in the storm's impact zone, according to federal estimates.






The weather service painted a vivid picture in its warning of the destruction it expects:

a towering wall of water crashing over the Galveston Bay shoreline as the brunt of Ike comes ashore. That wall of water could send floodwaters surging into Houston, more than 20 miles inland.  Watch CNN meteorologists track Hurricane Ike »

"All neighborhoods ... and possibly entire coastal communities ... will be inundated during the peak storm tide," the weather service warned. "Persons not heeding evacuation orders in single-family one- or two-story homes will face certain death."  Watch President Bush urge residents to evacuate »

The storm's counterclockwise rotation is likely to push water into Galveston Bay for hour upon hour, battering sea walls and structures.

The final storm surge, the one that could exceed 20 feet in height, would come as the hurricane's eye crosses the shoreline. 

[Bianca]

                                           Colossal Hurricane Ike bears down on Texas coast







By JUAN A. LOZANO,
Associated Press Writer

10 minutes ago

Sept. 12, 2008
 
HOUSTON - A monster-sized Hurricane Ike bore down on the Texas coast late Friday, threatening to rattle the sparkling skyscrapers of America's fourth-largest city, shut down the heart of the U.S oil industry for days and obliterate waterfront towns already flooded with waist-high water.
 
Though nearly 1 million people evacuated coastal communities in the days leading up to the storm, tens of thousands ignored calls to leave and decided to tough it out. But as wind-whipped floodwaters began crashing into coastal homes, many changed their minds. Galveston fire crews rescued more than 300 people who were walking through flooded streets, clutching clothes and other belongings as they tried to wade to safety.

"We were going street by street seeing people who were trying to escape the flood waters," Fire Chief Michael Varela said. "I'm assuming these were people who made the mistake of staying."

At 600 miles across, the storm was nearly as big as Texas itself, and threatened to give the state its worst pounding in a generation. It was on track to crash ashore early Saturday near Galveston, the same site that suffered the nation's worst natural disaster when a legendary storm struck without warning and killed 6,000 more than a century ago.

Officials were growing increasingly worried about the stalwarts, and many communities imposed curfews to discourage looters. Authorities in three counties alone said roughly 90,000 stayed behind, despite a warning from forecasters that many of those in one- or two-story homes on the coast faced "certain death."

With heavy bands of rain and high winds moving in, rescue crews were forced to retreat and leave the stubborn to fend for themselves. Firefighters left a boat and yacht warehouse in Galveston in flames because water was too high for fire trucks to navigate.

"I believe in the man up there, God," said William Steally, a 75-year-old retiree who planned to ride out the storm in Galveston without his wife or sister-in-law. "I believe he will take care of me."

A disabled 584-foot freighter with 22 men aboard was left tossing about in the waves because winds were too dangerous for aircraft. Late Friday, the Coast Guard reported the crew was still safe after weathering the brunt of the storm, and a tugboat was set to arrive noon Saturday.

Power was knocked out to hundreds of thousands of customers in Louisiana and along the Texas coast. That number that was expected to climb quickly throughout the night, according to Centerpoint Energy, the primary electricity provider for the region.

As of 9 p.m. EDT, Ike was centered about 70 miles southeast of Galveston, moving at 13 mph. It was close to a Category 3 storm with winds of 110 mph, and was expected to strengthen by the time the eye hit land. Forecasters predicted it would come ashore somewhere near Galveston early Saturday and pass almost directly over Houston.

Because of the hurricane's size, the state's shallow coastal waters and its largely unprotected coastline, forecasters said the biggest threat would be flooding and storm surge, with Ike expected to hurl a wall of water two stories high — 20 to 25 feet — at the coast.

Bachir Annane, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Research Division, said Ike's surge could be catastrophic, and like nothing the Texas coast has ever seen.

"Wind doesn't tell the whole story," Annane said. "It's the size that tells the story, and this is a giant."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said more than 5.5 million prepackaged meals were being sent to the region, along with more than 230 generators and 5.6 million liters of water. At least 3,500 FEMA officials were stationed in Texas and Louisiana.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked President Bush for a "wide-reaching emergency declaration" in all 88 counties being affected, a move designed to secure emergency funding to help defray storm costs.

Ike would be the first major hurricane to hit a U.S. metropolitan area since Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago. For Houston, it would be the first major hurricane since Alicia in August 1983 came ashore on Galveston Island, killing 21 people and causing $2 billion in damage. Houston has since then seen a population explosion, so many of the residents now in the storm's path have never experienced the full wrath of a hurricane.

Authorities instructed most of the city's 2 million residents to just hunker down to avoid highway gridlock.

If Ike is as bad as feared, the storm could travel up Galveston Bay and send a surge up the Houston Ship Channel and into the port of Houston. The port is the nation's second-busiest, and is an economically vital complex of docks, pipelines, depots and warehouses that receives automobiles, consumer products, industrial equipment and other cargo from around the world and ships out vast amounts of petrochemicals and agricultural products.

The oil and gas industry was also closely watching Ike because it was headed straight for the nation's biggest complex of refineries and petrochemical plants. Wholesale gasoline prices jumped to around $4.85 a gallon for fear of shortages.

The storm could also force water up the seven bayous that thread through Houston, swamping neighborhoods so flood-prone that they get inundated during ordinary rainstorms.

Though Ike's center was heading for Texas, it spawned thunderstorms, shut down schools and knocked out power throughout southern Louisiana on Friday. An estimated 1,200 people were in state shelters in Monroe and Shreveport, and another 220 in medical needs shelters.

In southeastern Louisiana near Houma, Ike breached levees, threatening thousands of homes of fishermen, oil-field workers, farmers and others.

In Galveston, a working-class town of about 57,000, waves crashed over the 11-mile seawall built a century ago, after the Great Storm of 1900 killed 6,000 residents.

While the Galveston beachfront is dotted with new condominiums and some elegant beach homes on stilts, most people live in older, one-story bungalows. The National Weather Service warned "widespread and devastating" damage was expected.

In Surfside Beach, a town of 800, the police chief asked one stubborn couple, David and Dondi Fields, to write their names and Social Security numbers on their forearms with a black marker in case something bad happened to them.

Dondi Fields, 50, wrote "I heart U" and "for my kids" on her arm. But the couple finally decided to leave. Police used an aluminum boat to reach them, and a National Guard truck carried them to safety.

Houston's streets were eerily quiet. Skyscrapers were darkened, and sandbags protected the lobby doors to some.

Gloria Dulworth, who lives on the seventh of a high-rise apartment building, refused to let the storm dampen her plans to celebrate her 81st birthday.

"We're surrounded by glass, so I'm taking my crystal candlesticks down. It's been suggested that we roll the rugs away from the door," in case water seeps in. Other than that, said Dulworth, "I'm going to get some fresh veggies. I have cereal and canned milk. I anticipate being without air conditioning for a couple of weeks, but you can't do much."

___

Juan A. Lozano reported from Galveston.



Associated Press writers


Kelley Shannon in Austin,

Eileen Sullivan in Washington,

Paul Weber and Regina L. Burns in Dallas,

John Porretto, Andre Coe and Pauline Arrillaga in Houston,

Diana Heidgerd in Dallas, and

Allen G. Breed and video journalist Rich Matthews in Surfside Beach also contributed.

Brian Skoloff also contributed from West Palm Beach, Fla.

[Bianca]

THIS PRAYER IS FOR THOSE THAT STAYED BEHIND, WHETHER BY DUTY TO OTHERS OR THEIR OWN

VOLITION:




                 THIS IS THE HYMN THAT THE CHILDREN OF THE ORPHANAGE SANG DURING THE



                                    'GREAT GALVESTON STORM' OF SEPTEMBER 8, 1900






                                                Q U E E N   O F   T H E   W A V E S





From a French hymn,
author unknown

 
Queen of the Waves, look forth across the ocean
From north to south, from east to stormy west,
See how the waters with tumultuous motion
Rise up and foam without a pause or rest.

But fear we not, tho' storm clouds round us gather,
Thou art our Mother and thy little Child
Is the All Merciful, our loving Brother
God of the sea and of the tempest wild.

Help, then sweet Queen, in our exceeding danger,
By thy seven griefs, in pity Lady save;
Think of the Babe that slept within the manger
And help us now, dear Lady of the Wave.

Up to the shrine we look and see the glimmer
Thy votive lamp sheds down on us afar;
Light of our eyes, oh let it ne'er grow dimmer,
Till in the sky we hail the morning star.

Then joyful hearts shall kneel around thine altar
And grateful psalms reecho down the nave;
Never our faith in thy sweet power can falter,
Mother of God, our Lady of the Wave.

[Bianca]

                                      Devastating Ike roars ashore in Galveston, Texas






By JUAN A. LOZANO and
CHRIS DUNCAN,
Associated Press Writers

2 minutes ago

Sept. 13, 2008
 
GALVESTON, Texas - Massive Hurricane Ike ravaged southeast Texas early Saturday, battering the coast with driving rain and ferocious wind gusts as residents who decided too late they should have heeded calls to evacuate made futile calls for rescue.
 
Though it would be daybreak before the storm's toll was clear, already, the damage was extensive. Thousands of homes and government buildings had flooded, roads were washed out, 2.9 million people lost power and several fires burned unabated as crews could not reach them. But the biggest fear was that tens of thousands of people had defied orders to flee and would need to be rescued from submerged homes and neighborhoods.

"The unfortunate truth is we're going to have to go in ... and put our people in the tough situation to save people who did not choose wisely. We'll probably do the largest search and rescue operation that's ever been conducted in the state of Texas," said Andrew Barlow, spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry.

Several fires were burning untended across Houston and 911 operators received about 1,250 calls in 24 hours, said Frank Michel, spokesman for Houston Mayor Bill White.

Streets around the city's theater district became rushing streams and shards of glass were falling from the sparkling skyscrapers that define the skyline of America's fourth-largest city. Winds were estimated to be 20-30 mph faster at the top of the steel and glass towers than they were at ground level.

The stubborn storm remained a Category 2 hurricane with winds topping 100 mph, but started moving away from Houston on Saturday morning. It was about 15 miles east-northeast of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and was expected to turn toward Arkansas later in the day.

The eye of the storm powered ashore at 3:10 a.m. EDT at Galveston with 110 mph winds, just shy of a Category 3 storm. Because Ike was so huge — nearly as big as Texas itself — hurricane winds pounded the coast for hours before landfall and would continue through much of the morning, forecasters said.

"For us, it was a 10," Galveston Fire Chief Mike Varela said when asked to compare Ike to earlier hurricanes like 2005's Rita. Varela said firefighters responded to about 60 rescue calls before suspending operations around 8 p.m. Friday.

More than 1.3 million customers — or 2.9 million people — had lost power, and suppliers warned it could be weeks before all the service was restored. The only parts of Houston with power were downtown and the massive medical center section.

Forecasters said the worst winds and rain would come after the center came ashore.

Though 1 million people fled coastal communities near where the storm made landfall, authorities in four counties alone said roughly 140,000 ignored mandatory evacuation orders and stayed behind. Other counties were unable to provide numbers but officials said they were concerned that many decided to brave deadly conditions rather than flee.

As the front of the storm moved into Galveston, fire crews rescued nearly 300 people who changed their minds and fled at the last minute, wading through floodwaters carrying clothes and other possessions.

Even before Ike made landfall, Coast Guard helicopters had rescued 103 people in the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston Island, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ayla Stevens.

"Some people were on roofs, some people in cars," she said.

"We don't know what we are going to find. We hope we will find the people who are left here alive and well," Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said. "We are keeping our fingers crossed all the people who stayed on Galveston Island managed to survive this."

Some 30 miles inland, storm surge pushing up through Galveston Bay was sending water into a neighborhood near Johnson Space Center where White had made rounds earlier with a bullhorn trying to compel people to leave. Nearby, the popular Kemah Boardwalk at the mouth of Galveston Bay, ringed by million-dollar homes, was submerged, state officials said.

[Bianca]

Thousands of homes could be damaged, a spokesman for the mayor said, but it was too dangerous to go out to assess the neighborhood at the height of the storm.

A landmark restaurant, Brennan's of Houston, was destroyed by flames when firefighters were thwarted by high winds. Across Houston's downtown, car alarms screeched and light poles swayed like small trees.

On the far east side of Houston, 34-year-old Claudia Macias was awake with her newborn and was trying unsuccessfully not to think about the trees swaying outside her doors, or the wind vibrating through her windows. She had been through other storms, but this time was different because she was a new mother.

"I don't know who's going to sleep here tonight, maybe the baby," Macias said.

Before it came ashore, the storm was 600 miles across. Because of the hurricane's size, the state's shallow coastal waters and its largely unprotected coastline, forecasters said the biggest threat would be flooding and storm surge, with Ike expected to hurl a wall of water two stories high — 20 to 25 feet — at the coast.

Firefighters left three buildings to burn Galveston because water was too high for fire trucks to reach them. Six feet of water had collected in the Galveston County Courthouse on the island's downtown, and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston was flooded, according to local storm reports on the National Weather Service's Web site.

But there was some good news: a stranded freighter with 22 men aboard made it through the brunt of the storm safely, and a tugboat was on the way to save them. And an evacuee from Calhoun County gave birth to a baby girl in the restroom of a shelter with the aid of an expert in geriatric psychiatry who delivered his first baby in two decades.

"It's kind of like riding a bike," Dr. Mark Burns told the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung after he helped Ku Paw welcome her fourth child.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said more than 5.5 million prepackaged meals were being sent to the region, along with more than 230 generators and 5.6 million liters of water. At least 3,500 FEMA officials were stationed in Texas and Louisiana.

If Ike is as bad as feared, the storm could travel up Galveston Bay and send a surge up the Houston Ship Channel and into the port of Houston. The port is the nation's second-busiest, and is an economically vital complex of docks, pipelines, depots and warehouses that receives automobiles, consumer products, industrial equipment and other cargo from around the world and ships out vast amounts of petrochemicals and agricultural products.

The storm also could force water up the seven bayous that thread through Houston, swamping neighborhoods so flood-prone that they get inundated during ordinary rainstorms.

The oil and gas industry was closely watching Ike because it was headed straight for the nation's biggest complex of refineries and petrochemical plants. Wholesale gasoline prices jumped to around $4.85 a gallon for fear of shortages.

Ike is the first major hurricane to hit a U.S. metropolitan area since Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago. For Houston, it would be the first major hurricane since Alicia in August 1983 came ashore on Galveston Island, killing 21 people and causing $2 billion in damage. Houston has since then seen a population explosion, so many of the residents now in the storm's path have never experienced the full wrath of a hurricane.

On its way through the Gulf toward Texas, Ike spawned thunderstorms, shut down schools and knocked out power throughout southern Louisiana on Friday. An estimated 1,200 people were in state shelters in Monroe and Shreveport, and another 220 in medical needs shelters.

In southeastern Louisiana near Houma, Ike breached levees, and flooded more than 1,800 homes. More than 160 people had to be rescued from sites of severe flooding, and Gov. Bobby Jindal said he expected those numbers to grow. In some extreme instances, residents of low-lying communities where waters continued to rise continued to refuse National Guard assistance to flee their homes, authorities said.

No deaths had been officially reported, but crews expected to resume searching at daybreak near Corpus Christi for a man believed swept out to sea as Ike closed in.

___



Juan A. Lozano reported from Galveston.

Chris Duncan reported from Houston.




Associated Press writers


Jim Vertuno and Jay Root in Austin,

Eileen Sullivan in Washington,

Schuyler Dixon and Paul Weber in Dallas,

John Porretto, Monica Rhor and Pauline Arrillaga in Houston,

Michael Kunzelman in Lake Charles, La.,

Brian Skoloff in West Palm Beach, Fla.,

April Castro and Andre Coe in College Station, and

Allen G. Breed and video journalist Rich Matthews in Surfside Beach also contributed.

[Bianca]

                                             Rescue teams ready to help after Ike






By DEB RIECHMANN,
Associated Press Writer

13 minutes ago

Sept. 13, 2008
 
WASHINGTON - Rescue teams were poised to move in and help tens of thousands of people who decided not to evacuate before Hurricane Ike struck, President Bush said Saturday.
 
"The storm has yet to pass and I know there are people concerned about their lives," Bush said from the South Lawn of the White House after he participated in video conference with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and David Paulison, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Some people didn't evacuate when asked," Bush said about the tens of thousands of people in Texas and Louisiana who may have to be rescued. "I've been briefed on the rescue teams there in the area. They're prepared to move as soon as weather conditions permit. Obviously, people on the ground there are sensitive to helping people and are fully prepared to do so."

Ike ravaged southeast Texas early Saturday, battering the coast with driving rain and high wind. Thousands of homes and government buildings are flooded, roads are washed out, nearly 3 million people lost power and several fires burned unabated.

"As this massive storm moves through the Gulf Coast, people in that area can rest assured that the American people will be praying for them and will be ready to help once this storm moves on," Bush said.

Though roughly 1 million people fled coastal communities, authorities in four counties alone said roughly 140,000 ignored mandatory evacuation orders and stayed behind. Other counties were unable to provide numbers but officials said they were concerned that many decided to brave deadly conditions rather than flee.

Even before Ike hit the coast, the hurricane was sending waves through the U.S. gasoline market.

Wholesale gas prices soared on Friday, reaching around $4.85 on the Gulf Coast amid fears that there will be vast fuel shortages as the hurricane bore down on refineries lining the upper Texas coast. The region accounts for about one-fifth of the nation's petroleum refining capacity.

The price spike is expected to result in higher prices at gas pumps across broad swaths of the nation as the gasoline makes it way from the wholesale market to retailers.

Bush said that the government has suspended Environmental Protection Agency waivers on some reformulated gasoline to make it easier for foreign imports to reach the U.S. market.

"In the meantime, the Department of Energy and state authorities will be monitoring a gasoline crisis so consumers are not being gouged," Bush said.

[Bianca]

                                  Hundreds of homes flood as Ike passes Louisiana






By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN,
Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 12, 2008
 
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Storm surge driven by Hurricane Ike breached levees in coastal Louisiana Friday and flooded hundreds of homes in areas along the Gulf of Mexico still recovering from Gustav.
 
About 1,800 homes and business flooded in coastal Cameron Parish as the storm churned toward expected landfall in Texas, said Gov. Bobby Jindal, and he expected water to eventually inundate all 2,900 homes in the area. Flooded homes were reported in other parishes, though numbers were sketchy at nightfall.

Flooding was reported in areas from Plaquemines Parish in southeast Louisiana to Cameron Parish on the Texas line.

"It's going to be devastating for people," said Cameron Parish emergency preparedness director Clifton Hebert. "We don't have the wind that Rita brought, but we have at least the same storm surge, if not a little more."

In nearby Terrebonne Parish, crews worked to plug at least four breaches. Officials said areas in which Rita inundated 10,000 homes in 2005 were vulnerable again.

More than 160 people were rescued from flooding Friday, Jindal said.

About 130 people remained in the fishing community on the barrier island of Grand Isle after storm surge cut off the only road to the mainland, said Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Jindal said search and rescue teams would head to the island as soon as wind abated and water receded.

He told residents they could break into a state wildlife and fisheries lab that was deemed a safe structure. He called it "the most unusual piece of advice I might give."

More than 100,000 customers were without electricity Friday night, a number that also included some customers who lost power in Gustav, the Louisiana Public Service Commission said.

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                                        Nearly 3M people without power as Ike hits






Sat Sep 13, 2008
 
HOUSTON - Nearly 3 million people are without power in the Houston area as Hurricane Ike slams the Texas coast.
 
It will likely be a while before electricity returns. CenterPoint Energy says it could take weeks before all the power in the nation's fourth-largest city was restored.

Utility spokesman Floyd LeBlanc said 1.3 million customers — or about 2.9 million people — had lost power by the time the storm made landfall at Galveston early Saturday. Work crews were coming in Monday to restore power, and priority will be given to hospitals, fire and police departments and water and sewage treatment plants.

The city's last direct hit from a hurricane came from Alicia in 1983, when 750,000 CenterPoint customers lost power. It took 16 days to restore all service.

(This version CORRECTS corrects number of customers without power)

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                                             Hurricane Ike punishing Texas coast







By Chris Baltimore and
Anna Driver
40 minutes ago
Sept. 13, 2008
 
HOUSTON, Sept 13 - (Reuters) - Hurricane Ike barreled into the densely populated Texas coast near Houston early on Saturday, bringing with it a wall of water and ferocious winds and rain that flooded large areas along the Gulf of Mexico and paralyzed the fourth-largest U.S. city.
 
Ike, which has idled more than a fifth of U.S. oil production, came ashore at the barrier island city of Galveston as a strong Category 2 storm at 2:10 a.m. CDT (3:10 a.m. EDT) with 110 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center said.

Ike barreled through the Gulf of Mexico for days and covered a vast area extending hundreds of miles (km) when it slammed into the Texas coast. It is the biggest storm to hit a U.S. city since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

The hurricane drove a wall of water over Galveston and submerged a 17-foot sea wall built to protect the city after a 1900 hurricane killed at least 8,000 people. More than half of its 60,000 residents had fled and emergency operations were suspended through the storm.

About 50 miles inland, Ike lashed downtown Houston's glass-covered skyscrapers, blowing out windows and sending debris flying through water-clogged city streets.

The storm was downgraded to a Category 1 on the hurricane intensity scale at 8 a.m. CMT (9 a.m. EDT) carrying top sustained winds near 90 mph and moving north, but officials said it was too soon to assess the damage.

Texas officials were waiting for a break in the weather to deploy a search and rescue operation.

"We expected a major storm and our expectations unfortunately came true," said Mark Miner, a spokesman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "The weather needs to clear up a little bit to see just what the devastation was."

The hurricane has shut down 17 oil refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, the heart of the U.S. oil sector where 22 percent of fuel supplies are processed. Energy experts said it would take at least a week for the refineries to get back to normal.

Houston was dark Saturday morning except for downtown and the Texas Medical Center, which are fed by underground power sources, Floyd LeBlanc of CenterPoint Energy said in an e-mail. Nearly all 2 million customers, or 4.5 million people, in the Houston-Galveston area were without power, he said.

"This is a huge storm that is causing a lot of damage, not only in Texas, but also in parts of Louisiana," U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday.

He said the government would monitor gas prices to prevent extraordinary price increases because of Ike.






(Additional reporting



by Eileen O'Grady,

Erwin Seba and Bruce Nichols and Jim Forsyth in San Antonio;

Writing by Mary Milliken;

Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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                         Hurricane Ike's impact felt at International Space Station: NASA






Fri Sep 12, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) -

Officials Friday delayed the arrival of a cargo ship at the International Space Station, after NASA shut down its space center in Houston as Hurricane Ike barreled down on Texas, the US space agency said.
 
The Russian cargo spacecraft Progress, launched Thursday from Kazakhstan, is carrying more than two tons of supplies to Russian cosmonauts aboard the orbiting space station (ISS).

But US and Russian officials delayed its docking from Saturday to Wednesday, after the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which controls many of the systems at the ISS, was shut down because of the approaching storm.

Ike has killed more than 100 people in the Caribbean and was gathering strength as it rampaged across the Gulf of Mexico, threatening Galveston Island and Houston in southeastern Texas with a direct hit.

Control of the ISS has been handed to flight controllers at backup facilities further inland in Texas and Alabama until the storm has passed, NASA said.

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                                    Meteorologist: Ike's storm surge less than feared







By The Associated Press

1 hour, 37 minutes ago
Sept. 13, 208
 
GALVESTON, Texas - Experts say Hurricane Ike's storm surges are less severe than originally predicted and the worst is probably over.
 
Hydrologist Benton McGee from the U.S. Geological Survey says the highest storm surge will probably remain 13.5 feet at Sabine Pass in Texas.

He says a 5-foot storm surge was recorded in the Houston area. Now the big concern is inland flooding.

The surge at Galveston, where Ike made landfall, was about 11 feet.

Forecasters had predicted a surge of up to 25 feet. That would've been the highest in recorded history in Texas — above 1961's Hurricane Carla, which brought a 22-foot wall of water.

It will take a few days before more definitive measurements are available.

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                                       Houston family huddles, rides out Ike like others






By MONICA RHOR,
Associated Press Writer
Sept. 13, 2008
 


HOUSTON - Long before her windows started humming and the lanky pine trees began swaying, new mother Claudia Macias had second thoughts about her family's decision to ride out Hurricane Ike in their home on the far east side of Houston.
 
As the night wore on and television news programs churned out reports of flooding and tornado warnings, Macias again questioned her decision to stay.

The Houston native had been through other hurricanes, but this one was different. This time, Macias was worried about her 3-month-old daughter.

Macias and her husband, Alex Villegas, 39, who evacuated during Hurricane Rita in 2005, were encouraged by the mayor's advice that thousands of families not in evacuation zones should "hunker down."

So, they planned to do just that in their four-bedroom home, along with Macias' parents, Carmen and Pedro Macias, and eight dogs.

But as the wind gathered strength, and worried relatives peppered the family with calls about flooding nearby, Macias began to gnaw at her cuticles and peek anxiously out her windows.

She wondered aloud whether there was still time to leave.

It was not yet 8 p.m. local time, and Hurricane Ike was still about 100 miles from landfall. Macias braced herself for a long night.

"I don't know who's going to sleep here tonight, maybe the baby," said Macias, 34, a teacher and principal who is taking a break from work after giving birth. "I'm not sleeping."

___

At the home on a quiet middle-class street, a pink "It's a girl" banner still hangs over a doorway. Toys, infant bouncers and strollers litter the house. The couple, married nine years, delight in every gurgle, smile and new move from their little girl, Citlahli.

Macias wanted to be prepared for the worst — a last-minute evacuation, lengthy power outages and possible tornadoes. She packed clothes and emergency bags. She loaded nonperishable food into plastic bins and laundry baskets. She bought enough water to line the perimeter of her dining room.

And she cleared out a "shelter of last resort" in her first-floor laundry room and walk-in closet. If the wind began to roar like a freight train, this is where they would retreat.

"We're trying not to be visibly apprehensive," said Villegas. "We need to be confident in body language, and tone. We're trying to be calm, at least visibly."

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Around 9 p.m., shortly after a local news radio station announced a tornado watch, that calm shuddered, then seemed to regroup.

Macias returned to the comfort of the routine. It was time for Citlahli's nightly bath. Macias tried not to think about the big window on one wall of the bathroom, or the sound of the quickening rain and wind hitting the panes.

Instead, she and her mother, Carmen Macias, 59, gently cooed to the smiling infant.

"I'm trying to ignore everything I'm hearing outside the window by singing and talking to her. It's not just for her sake, but mine too," she said. "I'm trying to keep it as routine for Citlahli so she doesn't pick up on the bad vibes I may be emitting."

Still, she noted earlier, even the baby seemed to know something was different about tonight. Citlahli couldn't even fall asleep for her afternoon nap.

"Her eyes are bigger. She is raising her eyebrows more," Macias said. "I can't believe she's going to go through her first hurricane."

___

As the night wore on, each person in the house found their own way of staying calm.

Villegas sat over his laptop, one eye on the screen, the other on the TV set. Every hour, he stepped out to the garage to check on the dogs.

Claudia Macias hovered over Citlahli, gently rocking the infant to sleep in her arms, then laying her down for the night in the laundry room crib.

Pedro Macias, 62, who is famous in his family for sleeping through Hurricane Alicia in 1983, posted himself in front of the television, occasionally nodding off for a few minutes now and again.

And Carmen Macias, who had taken a "little anxiety pill" before coming to her daughter's house, steadied herself the only way she knew: by going to work in the kitchen. Cooking chicken and rice. Washing dishes. Scouring the sink and the stove.

Still, every thud against a wall, every creak outside the window, every gust rattling the house, seemed to unnerve her.

"What is that? Is that a tornado?" she asked as the air conditioning unit kicked on just after 12:30 a.m.

Her daughter shared those nerves.

"It sounds ugly upstairs," Claudia Macias said, as she walked down the stairs.

"Maybe this is as bad as it's going to get," said her husband.

"No, this is just the beginning," replied Claudia.

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The worst was yet to come.

Around 2 a.m., the power went out, plunging the house into total darkness.

Alex Villegas and Claudia Macias scrambled to grab flashlights, scanning the rooms for any damage.

Carmen Macias, who had been upstairs, scurried down to check on her daughter and granddaughter, who remained fast asleep. Her grandfather, sleeping soundly on an upstairs couch, also did not stir.

Cell phones chirped, as they had all night long, with friends and relatives anxious to make sure the family was safe.

Outside, the wind gusted and rain drummed against the window like small stones.

The bands of Ike were reaching their house, and Claudia, Alex and Carmen huddled together on an air mattress tossed on the corner of the first floor bedroom floor. Their faces illuminated by flashlights, they talked quietly through the pre-dawn hours.

Carmen Macias recounted stories about family trips to Mexico when she was a young girl, funny tales about getting through Hurricane Carla in 1961 and anything to get their mind off the mounting storm.

___

Around 6 a.m., the house began to stir again.

There had been momentary relief when the eye of the storm passed overhead, quieting the wind and rain to a whisper. Claudia Macias was able to take a brief nap, before jolting awake to the storm powering back to life.

"The nerves come and go. When it stops outside, I think we're OK, the house is still standing, then it picks up again," she said. "It's almost over, and with sunlight, it'll be better. The howling and the wind in the darkness makes it worse."

Citlahli, who had slept undisturbed through the night, called out to her mother, as if sensing the renewed movement around her.

The waning night also brought the first hints of hurricane damaged. Leaks sprouted in the living room ceiling, likely where shingles had been blown off the roof, and water seeped in through the fireplace. In the front yard, a tree had lost a good chunk of its upper limbs and debris could be seen in the street.

And there were still hours to go. The storm, still howling, was predicted to hover overhead until noon.