Image of Hurricane Ike on September 10, 2008, downlinked by the crew of the International Space Station, flying 220 statute miles above Earth. Ike barreled into the densely populated Texas coast near Houston early September 13, 2008, 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 US city. [Agencies]