Forecasters: Ike could hit Texas as a Category 4
Pastor Dale Morgan
Forecasters: Ike could hit Texas as a Category 4*
* Story Highlights
* Ike could swell to Category 4 when it hits Texas coast Saturday
* Mandatory evacuations ordered for residents with special needs in
one county
* Hurricane-spawned tornado causes damage in Key Largo, Florida
* Texans in low-lying areas and mobiles homes urged to get out
(CNN) -- Evacuations were ordered along the Texas coast Wednesday as
forecasters predicted that Hurricane Ike could slam into the state as a
Category 4 storm on Saturday.
Aransas County, on the eastern coast of Texas, has ordered a mandatory
evacuation of all nonessential government employees, becoming the latest
county in the state to urge residents to flee.
In Galveston, city officials ordered mandatory evacuations for part of
the island town beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday. The rest of the town will
be under a voluntary evacuation order. Only residents will be required
to evacuate on the western end of the island.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas defended that, saying current models call for
Galveston to be hit with winds and rain only equivalent to a Category 1
hurricane.
"We do not intend to evacuate Galveston Island," she said. "It's the
last thing we want to do. Our job is to protect lives and property,
[and] right now we feel that sheltering in place is the best action for
our citizens to take."
Farther up the Gulf Coast and closer to where the National Hurricane
Center predicts a direct hit, Brazoria County ordered a mandatory
evacuation to begin at 8 a.m. Thursday. Some other Texas localities have
ordered mandatory evacuations, while others have left the decision to
depart up to residents.
As of 8 p.m. ET, the Category 2 storm -- with top sustained winds near
100 mph -- was about 700 miles (1,125 km) east of Brownsville, Texas,
and about 345 miles (555 km) south-southeast of the mouth of the
Mississippi River, the National Hurricane Center said. Track the storm »
Hurricane-force winds extended out up to 90 miles (50 km) from the
storm's center, and tropical storm-force winds extended out up to 205
miles (335 km), forecasters reported.
About 15,000 residents were leaving Galveston's Brazoria County
Wednesday after a mandatory evacuation order was issued at 10 a.m. CT
(11 a.m. ET) governing one ZIP code -- 77541 -- and residents throughout
the county with special needs.
Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc issued a warning to residents of
the city's West End, citing forecasters' estimates that the area could
get tides of 6 feet above normal if the storm arrives there. The West
End is the area of Galveston most susceptible to flooding, LeBlanc said.
Other Brazoria residents were being allowed to remain as of 6 p.m. ET.
Officials are expected to provide another update later Wednesday.
In Matagorda County, southwest of Galveston, officials ordered a
mandatory evacuation for all areas except the cities of Bay City and Van
Vleck.
The evacuation must be completed by at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) Thursday.
Galveston is likely to experience a high tidal surge, officials said,
urging people living in low-lying areas or mobile homes to get out soon.
"One of the things that the public has to understand if they decide to
stay, there will be a period of time during this storm when they will
absolutely be on their own," Brazoria County Sheriff Charles Wagner said.
"There will be no medical services; there will be no fire department;
there will be no law enforcement, groceries, gasoline, drugs, electricity."
The center issued a tropical storm warning from the Mississippi River's
mouth to Cameron, Louisiana, and a hurricane watch from Cameron to Port
Mansfield, Texas, about 60 miles south of Brownsville. Tropical storm
warnings mean winds of 39 to 73 mph (63 to 118 kmh) are expected within
a day, and a hurricane watch means winds of 74 and higher are expected
within 36 hours.
"Hurricane Ike is now in the Gulf of Mexico and making its approach
toward our coast," Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. "The next few
days will be crucial for residents to follow the direction of local
leaders and to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their
families."
Perry put 7,500 National Guard members on standby this week, his office
said, and issued a disaster declaration for 88 counties.
About 1,350 buses, several ambulances and paramedic buses were available
to support evacuations. The vehicles were positioned near Houston,
Matagorda County, Nueces County and Victoria County, the governor's
office said.
President Bush declared an emergency in the state, making federal funds
available for the state to prepare for the storm.
Corpus Christi officials also began the evacuation process for residents
with special needs, supplying buses to transport them out of town.
Voluntary evacuations were issued in San Patricio and Victoria counties
and parts of Jackson County, according to the governor's office.
More than 1,300 inmates from the Texas Correctional Institutions
Division's Stevenson Unit in Cuero were being evacuated to facilities in
Beeville and Kenedy, Perry's office said, and 597 were transferred from
the substance abuse Glossbrenner Unit in San Diego, in south Texas, to
Dilley.
Naval air stations in Texas also began to prepare for Hurricane Ike's
expected arrival. Naval Air Station Kingsville was to begin moving about
50 aircraft to El Paso, San Antonio and Fort Worth on Wednesday
afternoon, the public affairs office there said. Naval Air Station
Corpus Christi will also move about 75 aircraft to other Texas
locations, its public affairs office said.
Evacuations appeared to have saved lives in Cuba when Ike slammed into
the island. Four deaths were reported from the storm, according to the
Cuban government. The Cuban Civil Defense brought buses or trucks to
take people to shelters. Photo See the damage from the storm »
Cuban state television reported that two people were killed when they
tried to remove an antenna, The Associated Press said. One man died when
a tree crashed into his home, and a woman died when her home's roof
collapsed, according to the AP.
The storm shredded hundreds of homes and caused some dilapidated
buildings in Havana's older areas to collapse, the AP reported. Video
Watch as winds and waves pound Cuba »
The United States, which provided $100,000 in emergency aid to
communist-run Cuba through private aid agencies after Hurricane Gustav
hit the island August 30, said Tuesday that it was considering
additional emergency aid for Cuba because of Ike.
Also, the United States said it will lift restrictions on cash and
humanitarian assistance sent to Cuba for the next 90 days. The move will
allow nongovernmental organizations to provide assistance and cash
donations.
The storm pounded Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos chain,
putting a strain on the British territory's tourism industry. Video
Watch houses lie in heaps on Grand Turk »
Flooding and rains from Ike's outer bands have been blamed for 70 deaths
in Haiti.