Hurricane Ike hits Texas coast
The hurricane is expected to strengthen as it moves through the southern parts of the US
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By inthenews. |  |
Saturday, 13, Sep 2008 09:23
Strong winds battered the coast of Texas today as the Category Two Hurricane Ike made landfall.
Residents of the island of Galveston near Texas have been given mandatory evacuation orders and warned of "certain death" if they did not leave for higher ground.
Yet, over 2,000 residents chose to shelter from the storm in their homes. A curfew is in place in the city until dawn on Sunday.
The national hurricane centre (NHC) in Florida said Ike was generating winds of close to 110 mph, and was just shy of the wind intensity of a Category Three Hurricane.
It warned that further strengthening of the tropical storm is possible as it passes through Texas moving it up the Saffir Simpson scale to the third level which would carry the same severe weather conditions as 2005's deadly Hurricane Katrina.
In a statement on its website, the NHC said: "Weather conditions will continue to worsen in the next few hours.
"Chambers...Galveston...Eastern Harris...and Liberty will experience much stronger winds between midnight and 3am as Ike moves inland.
"Persons outside of the mandatory evacuation areas who have not evacuated should plan to shelter in place in a well-built structure for the duration of the storm.
"Mobile homes and high rise buildings will not be safe for sheltering," it added.
Speaking yesterday, homeland security department secretary Michael Chertoff said: "Our nation is facing what is by any means a potentially catastrophic hurricane. This storm is so big in fact that its impact is already being felt all along the Gulf Coast."
Hurricane Ike is the ninth severe weather system of the Atlantic storm season this year.