ID :
19396
Sat, 09/13/2008 - 19:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/19396
The shortlink copeid
Hurricane Ike begins pounding Texas coast as thousands flee
Seema Hakhu Kachru
Houston, Sept 13 (PTI) Giant Hurricane Ike began lashing
the Texas gulf coast Saturday with its fierce category 3 winds
threatening to shut down U.S. oil industry and flood the big
water front area which is already under waist deep water.
Ike, which has already churned through the Gulf of Mexico
is now on a collision course with Texas, where already over a
million people in coastal areas have been evacuated but
thousand others have ignored calls to leave, deciding to brave
it out.
Heavy rains have pushed a wall of water that has caused
floods all along the coast, shut down oil refineries,
endangered a freighter at sea and destroyed a pier in
Galveston.
Ike's maximum winds were holding steady at 966 kph and
the storm was moving northeast that put its landfall towards
evening southeast of Galveston, the National Hurricane Centre
reported.
Officials said the initial flooding was only a preview of
worse things to come, and one hurricane expert, Jeff Masters,
warned that the storm "stands poised to become one of the most
damaging hurricanes of all time".
President George W Bush, speaking in Oklahoma City, said
he was "deeply concerned" about the hurricane.
"The federal government will not only help with the
pre-storm strategy, but once this storm passes we'll be
working with state and local authorities to help people
recover as quickly as possible.
U.S. forecasters said the storm's size meant it would
produce high storm surges all along the coast in western
Louisiana and eastern Texas, as well as dumping 5 to 10 inches
of rain.
The rising tide would be especially dangerous in
Galveston and in communities on the bay just south of Houston;
people in one-and two-story homes in coastal floodplains could
be swept away.
In Galveston, the power went out across the island just
before 5.30 IST Saturday, plunging the city into darkness.
Galveston mayor Lyda Ann Thomas meanwhile, ordered three
day dusk to dawn curfew starting Friday.
"It's not a good scenario for Houston and Galveston,"
said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the National Hurricane
Center. "You are in high danger of those buildings being
knocked down and if you are in one you will go with it."
Still, officials in Houston urged residents on higher
ground to remain in their homes rather than evacuate.
Local officials hope to avoid a repeat of the chaos that
followed after residents were ordered to evacuate Houston when
Hurricane Rita threatened the city in 2005.
The evacuation had then clogged the highways and was
blamed for 110 deaths -- more than the storm itself.
Mayor Bill White of Houston said that about a quarter
million people in the Houston area had heeded the call to
evacuate lower-lying areas, though only 300 were taken out on
government buses, the majority making their way in their own.
Galveston officials said about 60 percent of the
island's 57,000 residents appeared to have left.
The government has moved about 3,500 rescue workers into
place just outside the storm's expected path, along with
crucial supplies of water, meals and generators to power
hospitals and other critical government buildings, said Debbie
Wing, spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Throughout the morning, White and the Harris County
judge, Ed Emmet, encouraged people to leave low-lying areas.
"Our biggest concern is getting every human being out of
the storm surge area," Emmet said. "Then we will get people
indoors and off the highway when the heavy winds come."
It's expected to be up to 72 hours before anyone will be
allowed to venture back to their homes in counties and areas
under a mandatory evacuation order.
An estimated 1 million people were asked to evacuate and
by this morning 100 shelters had been set up across the state.
About 1,000 workers are ready to move in within hours of
Ike's arrival. These paramedics, police and others will go
into the area to look for those hurt or killed. Utility
workers will follow them in, to begin effort to restore power.
More than a million people have fled the Texas coast,
state officials say. But unlike the lead-up to Rita, when
choking gridlock caused widespread chaos and contributed to
more than 100 deaths, those fleeing north today generally
reported smooth trips.
Houston, Sept 13 (PTI) Giant Hurricane Ike began lashing
the Texas gulf coast Saturday with its fierce category 3 winds
threatening to shut down U.S. oil industry and flood the big
water front area which is already under waist deep water.
Ike, which has already churned through the Gulf of Mexico
is now on a collision course with Texas, where already over a
million people in coastal areas have been evacuated but
thousand others have ignored calls to leave, deciding to brave
it out.
Heavy rains have pushed a wall of water that has caused
floods all along the coast, shut down oil refineries,
endangered a freighter at sea and destroyed a pier in
Galveston.
Ike's maximum winds were holding steady at 966 kph and
the storm was moving northeast that put its landfall towards
evening southeast of Galveston, the National Hurricane Centre
reported.
Officials said the initial flooding was only a preview of
worse things to come, and one hurricane expert, Jeff Masters,
warned that the storm "stands poised to become one of the most
damaging hurricanes of all time".
President George W Bush, speaking in Oklahoma City, said
he was "deeply concerned" about the hurricane.
"The federal government will not only help with the
pre-storm strategy, but once this storm passes we'll be
working with state and local authorities to help people
recover as quickly as possible.
U.S. forecasters said the storm's size meant it would
produce high storm surges all along the coast in western
Louisiana and eastern Texas, as well as dumping 5 to 10 inches
of rain.
The rising tide would be especially dangerous in
Galveston and in communities on the bay just south of Houston;
people in one-and two-story homes in coastal floodplains could
be swept away.
In Galveston, the power went out across the island just
before 5.30 IST Saturday, plunging the city into darkness.
Galveston mayor Lyda Ann Thomas meanwhile, ordered three
day dusk to dawn curfew starting Friday.
"It's not a good scenario for Houston and Galveston,"
said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the National Hurricane
Center. "You are in high danger of those buildings being
knocked down and if you are in one you will go with it."
Still, officials in Houston urged residents on higher
ground to remain in their homes rather than evacuate.
Local officials hope to avoid a repeat of the chaos that
followed after residents were ordered to evacuate Houston when
Hurricane Rita threatened the city in 2005.
The evacuation had then clogged the highways and was
blamed for 110 deaths -- more than the storm itself.
Mayor Bill White of Houston said that about a quarter
million people in the Houston area had heeded the call to
evacuate lower-lying areas, though only 300 were taken out on
government buses, the majority making their way in their own.
Galveston officials said about 60 percent of the
island's 57,000 residents appeared to have left.
The government has moved about 3,500 rescue workers into
place just outside the storm's expected path, along with
crucial supplies of water, meals and generators to power
hospitals and other critical government buildings, said Debbie
Wing, spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Throughout the morning, White and the Harris County
judge, Ed Emmet, encouraged people to leave low-lying areas.
"Our biggest concern is getting every human being out of
the storm surge area," Emmet said. "Then we will get people
indoors and off the highway when the heavy winds come."
It's expected to be up to 72 hours before anyone will be
allowed to venture back to their homes in counties and areas
under a mandatory evacuation order.
An estimated 1 million people were asked to evacuate and
by this morning 100 shelters had been set up across the state.
About 1,000 workers are ready to move in within hours of
Ike's arrival. These paramedics, police and others will go
into the area to look for those hurt or killed. Utility
workers will follow them in, to begin effort to restore power.
More than a million people have fled the Texas coast,
state officials say. But unlike the lead-up to Rita, when
choking gridlock caused widespread chaos and contributed to
more than 100 deaths, those fleeing north today generally
reported smooth trips.
