Houston, Texas - Tropical Storm Ike is just barely a storm as it heads up through northeastern Texas into Arkansas, with top sustained winds of about 40 miles-per-hour. Two miles-an-hour less and it becomes a depression.
Ike slammed ashore in Texas early Saturday as a Category 1 hurricane. It's still pumping out high winds, a lot of rain and the threat of tornadoes. The search continues for thousands of people who remained in their homes along the Texas coast. Authorities estimate about 140,000 or more who stayed despite warnings they could die.
The storm blew out the windows in skyscrapers in Houston, cut power to millions and swamped thousands of homes along the coast. Yachts were carried up onto roadways, buildings and homes collapsed and cars floated in floodwaters.
Ike is blamed in at least two deaths in the U.S. but claimed dozens of lives during its earlier march through the Caribbean.
Orange, Texas - Even as they pluck people from rooftops and wrecked neighborhoods, emergency responders in Texas are grumbling over how many residents brushed off dire warnings and tried to ride out Hurricane Ike.
While more than 2 million people did leave ahead of Ike, tens of thousands more ignored evacuation orders. Rescue crews were swamped with hundreds of emergency calls Saturday from the flooded lowlands of East Texas and western Louisiana. There were nearly a thousand rescues in Texas Saturday. And Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says nearly 600 people have been plucked from Ike's floodwaters in his state.
Ike claimed dozens of lives during its earlier march through the Caribbean There are two confirmed fatalities in the U.S., but flooded roads are making it hard to do searches in some areas and it's feared the number will rise.
Web Resources:
Get the very latest on Ike from our Hurricane Center by clicking here
For live streaming coverage of the storm from KHOU in Houston, click here.
Read situation reports from the state of Texas.
Houston's Emergency Management Office
Galveston's Emergency Management Office
Check out live Web cams along the Texas coast.
Crude oil prices rise Friday
Bad weather causing schedule changes
UNDATED (AP) - Several sporting events, including an NFL game, two baseball games, some major-college football games and a women's professional basketball game, are being rescheduled as Hurricane Ike approaches the Texas coast.
A look at some of the affected games:
The NFL game between Houston and Baltimore Ravens game scheduled for late Sunday has been moved to Monday night.
In Major League Baseball, both tonight's and Saturday's games between the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park have been postponed. No makeup dates set as of now.
In college football
- Arkansas vs. Number-8 Texas is postponed until September 27th.
- Washington State vs. Baylor is moved from Saturday to tonight.
- Stanford vs. TCU kickoff Saturday moved from 6 p.m. to noon
(Eastern time).
- Air Force vs. Houston moved from Houston to Dallas, at 2:30
p.m. Saturday.
- Sam Houston State vs. Prairie View A&M: Saturday's game
canceled.
- Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. Central Oklahoma: moved to 2 p.m.
Saturday in Edmond, Oklahoma.
- Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Southern Nazarene: moved to tonight at
6 p.m.
- Abilene Christian vs. Texas A&M-Commerce: changed to 2 p.m.
Saturday.
- Hardin-Simmons vs. Linfield: moved from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday.
- Kentucky Wesleyan vs. Stephen F. Austin: Saturday's game
postponed. No new date set.
- Tonight's WNBA game in Houston between the Comets and
Sacramento was postponed. It most likely will be played Monday.
All weekend athletic activities at Stephen F. Austin, Texas Southern and Houston Baptist universities have been canceled or postponed.
Hurricane History
Mainland U.S. tropical cyclones causing 25 or greater deaths 1851-2006.
RANK HURRICANE YEAR CATEGORY DEATHS
1 TX (Galveston) 1900 4 8000 a
2 FL (SE/Lake Okeechobee) 1928 4 2500 b
3 KATRINA(SE LA/MS) 2005 3 1500
4 LA (Cheniere Caminanda) 1893 4 1100-1400 c
5 SC/GA (Sea Islands) 1893 3 1000-2000 d
6 GA/SC 1881 2 700
7 AUDREY (SW LA/N TX) 1957 4 416 h
8 FL (Keys) 1935 5 408
9 LA (Last Island) 1856 4 400 e
10 FL (Miami)/MS/AL/Pensacola 1926 4 372
11 LA (Grand Isle) 1909 3 350
12 FL (Keys)/S TX 1919 4 287 j
13 LA (New Orleans) 1915 4 275 e
13 TX (Galveston) 1915 4 275
15 New England 1938 3 256
15 CAMILLE (MS/SE LA/VA) 1969 5 256
17 DIANE (NE U.S.) 1955 1 184
18 GA, SC, NC 1898 4 179
19 TX 1875 3 176
20 SE FL 1906 3 164
a Could be as high as 12,000
b Could be as high as 3000
c Total including offshore losses near 2000
d August
e Total including offshore losses is 600
f No more than
g Total including offshore losses is 390
h At least
i Puerto Rico 1899 and NC, SC 1899 are the same storm
j Could include some offshore losses
k Only of Tropical Storm intensity.
l Remained offshore
m Mid-October
n Four deaths at shoreline or just offshore
o Possibly a total from two hurricanes
Source: NOAA, Deadliest & Costliest Hurricanes
The thirty costliest mainland United States tropical cyclones, 1900-2006, (not adjusted for inflation)
RANK HURRICANE YEAR CATEGORY DAMAGE (U.S.)
1 KATRINA (SE FL, SE LA, MS) 2005 3 $81,000,000,000
2 ANDREW (SE FL/SE LA) 1992 5 26,500,000,000
3 WILMA (S FL) 2005 3 20,600,000,000
4 CHARLEY (SW FL) 2004 4 15,000,000,000
5 IVAN (AL/NW FL) 2004 3 14,200,000,000
6 RITA (SW LA, N TX) 2005 3 11,300,000,000
7 FRANCES (FL) 2004 2 8,900,000,000
8 HUGO (SC) 1989 4 7,000,000,000
9 JEANNE (FL) 2004 3 6,900,000,000
10 ALLISON (N TX) 2001 TS @ 5,000,000,000
11 FLOYD (Mid-Atlantic & NE U.S.) 1999 2 4,500,000,000
12 ISABEL (Mid-Atlantic) 2003 2 3,370,000,000
13 FRAN (NC) 1996 3 3,200,000,000
14 OPAL (NW FL/AL) 1995 3 3,000,000,000
15 FREDERIC (AL/MS) 1979 3 2,300,000,000
16 DENNIS (NW FL) 2005 3 2,230,000,000
17 AGNES (FL/NE U.S.) 1972 1 2,100,000,000
18 ALICIA (N TX) 1983 3 2,000,000,000
19 BOB (NC, NE U.S) 1991 2 1,500,000,000
19 JUAN (LA) 1985 1 1,500,000,000
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