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Grave warning issued to Texas coast ahead of Hurricane Ike

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-13 00:02

WASHINGTON - "Leave or die" is the warning, which forecasters gave to residents in Texas coast Friday ahead of the expected landing of Hurricane Ike.

A truck is partially submerged in rising flood waters as Hurricane Ike approaches in Galveston, Texas September 12, 2008. [Agencies]

On Friday morning, floodwaters surged into Galveston Island neighborhoods of Texas with the center of Hurricane Ike still more than 330 km from landfall.

Related readings:  Texas prepares for a gigantic hurricane Ike  Cars, trucks stream inland in Texas as Ike nears  Texas evacuates parts of Gulf Coast ahead of Ike  Ike gains strength over Gulf, heads for Texas

Forecasters of the National Hurricane Center said the storm surge could reach up to 6.6 meters and bring "certain death" to anyone who remained in Galveston Bay homes.

Rarely do forecasters use such a forceful language.

The last time they did was three years ago as Hurricane Katrina closed in on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Forecasters now expect Ike, a Category 2 storm, to strengthen before its center makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday.

The storm is so big that it fills most of the Gulf of Mexico.

Roughly 3.5 million people live in the storm's impact zone, according to federal estimates. The wall of water could send floodwaters surging into Houston, more than 33 km inland.

Four million Houston-area residents were told to hunker down and stay home, even as government offices and schools prepared to close Friday.

Still, not everyone was heeding the warnings.

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