Despair and anger affect those affected by Ike

Despair and anger affect those affected by Ike
Four days after that Ike shook his apartment and those of its neighbors, Jorge Perez still has good fresh in his mind the horrific noise in the morning last Saturday, the wind hits on brick walls as if King Kong was playing door. The desperate cries of their neighbors when the roof and walls of his house fell to the ground will never forget.

"Ike shattered apartments complete and is a miracle that people living in them left alive," said Perez, who works in the maintenance of the Wall Street apartments located in the 1000 block of the street Wayside.

The coup Ike was strong, but the side effects that has left on families of this complex of 217 units have their tenants to the point of despair.

"Since I only have two dollars in his pocket, and I do not have food or gasoline. We call you to Femara but no response because people have answered them say they will arrive as soon as possible but we have not seen anyone of Femara, "said Rene Perales who survived the hurricane with his wife and three children in the closet of his apartment.

Dozens of families in this complex are in distress and they feel abandoned by the authorities.

"We heard on the radio that there are a lot of help and give us phone numbers, but the aid did not see it, we send them to points where they say they will have ice and food and when we got nothing, the Red Cross plane has said no hopefully help us soon, "said Perales.

"The authorities must understand that we are not working, not as we move by the state of gasoline and stores are taking advantage of one because you climb up the price to everything," said Perales.

Rumba platico with several families of this complex and some who managed to communicate with WEF said they received a number of cases and that in the coming days Mandar a representative to assess their situations.
"We can not be many more days in this condition, the roof was wet and while we took the wet carpet smell very ugly and we have no electricity," said Maria Rosales single mother of three children.

When Rumbo told him the possibility of seeking a shelter is not liked the idea very much.

"If we leave here we will be with the slope that we are going to steal what little we stayed and we do not have to go and come as the hostel to see how our house is, I prefer to wait and see if at least turn the electricity and I can soon return to work, "said Rosales, who works at a meat packing.

The owners of the apartments relocated to the families of the destroyed units to other inside the compound, but almost all have damage that complicate daily life.

"I'm washing clothes in the tub because there is no fence and doing laundry eating charcoal stove does not work because, I think that broke a gas line or something," added Rosales.

It is not the only one: the handrails of the apartments are converted into tendederos.

Cases like these are asomando around the entire city and even Mayor Bill White had to talk about the situation of the affected people in apartments.

"If the apartments are damaged, if they do not have the minimum conditions, such as whether the roof damaged or have become wet inside, then we tell the owners of these apartments is not so arranged that they can not collect income," said White Tuesday, September 16 at a press conference. "We ask people who call us so that we can bring the points of distribution to areas where they are most needed."

The aid of FEM

The situation of PODS (outlets) in its third day of operation was still troubled by lack of coordination, admitted White. In point Texas Southern University for several hours there was no food, water or ice after it was announced that there would be in this location.

"This is unacceptable and we will take necessary action to ensure that does not happen again," added White.

However, people who are doing the ranks where sometimes have to wait up to two hours to get a box of food ready to eat, an ice pack and a box of water, are not very happy with the way it is being distributed aid.

One of the complaints is that it is not known in advance distribution points, as they are announcing the same day by the radios, are moving from place and at worst not even exist or are ready to operate.

"They say that there will be help every day while improving the thing, yet we are saying that [outlets] can move from one day to another, then you sleep with concern that the next day not going to be, "said Josefina Herrera, mother of four children.

Energy supply and

The restoration of electricity supply had advanced to just over 500 thousand customers, but 1.5 million were still without electricity on the roads although it was clear that aid from other states had already arrived in Houston, the number of trucks with electric service plates of other states that andaban working to remove trees and lift poles.

The positive side is that the weather on Saturday that had no mercy Houston is now in favour of its inhabitants: temperatures have been pleasant and the air conditioning is not a greater need. But four days without electricity continues to complicate matters in other respects.

"It drove me to lose a lot of food because even though I have cooler ice is not easy to find in stores," said Perales.

Patience in shops and petrol stations was minimal and prompted the authorities to put police officers in some of them to avoid fights among customers, which in some cases have to wait up to three hours to get petrol.

"I've seen people mourn because after waiting hours when arriving at the head of the line is that gasoline is over, what they are feeling well but unfortunately things stand," said I. Garza, Houston police.

"People are upset when you say that there is a limit of 20 dollars and we had to arrest some people who have wanted to assaulting the owners of the shops," added Garza.

The opinion of people in different parts of the city was sour and many voices have exalted level especially when they relate to work they are doing the authorities.

"They tell us that we have patience but they [the authorities] do not have to sleep in the dark with the fear that they will come to steal or who every day have to go out and pelearte for a gallon of gasoline or a bag of ice "Said one listeners who called the radio station 740 KTRH.

A few good news

In the northwest of the city and several factories were operating and many workers could return to their jobs.

"Finally something good in all this tragedy, my house I am very wrong, I do not have electricity but at least I already have my job and I will be able to have income that is crucial for us who live from check to check," said Ramon Escobar , An employee of National Oilwell Varco.

The Metro public transportation system is already operating in some parts of the city and is expected to next week is already the vast majority of routes operating normally. The airports are already operating on a limited basis and a curfew was reduced: in effect between midnight and 6 am.

Texas battle to provide aid to victims of hurricane

Texas battle to provide aid to victims of hurricane
The U.S. state of Texas battle on Monday to provide aid to its inhabitants who were badly affected by Hurricane Ike, while the storm was moving toward Canada.

According to a report by the television network CNN, Hurricane Ike moves into Canada after leaving a trail of destruction from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes of the United States.

However, the state government was still recommending that thousands of people to leave some very battered areas where aid supplies can hardly be sent to meet the needs of those affected.

Reports said that around 2,000 local people have been rescued from flooding by helicopters and boats and rescaistas are still peinando shattered communities along the coastal areas.

In Galveston, where Ike made landfall early on Saturday, reported that between 15,000 and 20,000 people still remain in a situation which is deteriorating under over time.

The superintendent of the city Steve LeBlanc said the same day at a press conference that Galveston "can not be safely accommodated at this time its people" and urged residents to leave behind the place and those evicted before the city not to return.

"We are sliding into a downward spiral if the whole world began to return," said LeBlanc. "Our resources are stretched to the maximum."

In Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, about 1.5 million people are living without electricity and thousands have no clean drinking water, but have begun to receive food and other necessities sent by government agencies.

The city is still under curfew from dusk until dawn because of a lack of electricity since its two main airports only partially resumed its operations.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on victims to wait more patience with the delivery of aid and those who were evicted to not return to their homes in haste.

Texas victims Ike

Texas victims Ike
neighborhoods flooded by storm surges caused by Hurricane Ike, running against time to rescue those trapped faced a second night among houses flattened, rubble strewn and toppled power lines.

In Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, imposed a curfew from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am, as most of the city has no electricity, citing AP.

"For security reasons, we ask people not to circulate through the streets on foot or driving," said police chief Harold Hurtt.

Paramedics, rescue dogs and structural engineers were deployed in Galveston Bay on a full moon night. In the northwestern state, the Coast Guard also worked all night on Saturday, capturing a half-dozen people in Bridge City.

Authorities had hoped to avoid another night of destruction to thousands of Texans -140,000 according to some estimates-not obeyed orders to evacuate before the arrival of Ike.

The authorities have attributed to the storm four deaths so far, two in Texas and two in Louisiana, and rescuers hoped to avoid an increase in the figure.

Heavy rains flooded areas already soaked by Ike and meteorologists warned that there are possibilities that the storms continue through the night.

President George W. Bush travels to Texas tomorrow to give his support to victims of Ike.

Roads blocked by flooding of over one meter tall and downed trees prevented work in the largest rescue effort in the state's history, just one day after the Category 2 hurricane hit Texas with winds of 177 kph.

The tropical depression weakened Ike is on the way to Arkansas, on a path toward the north which is expected to lead heavy rains to a wide area that could reach the border with Canada.

USA: The return to raise prices of petrol by hurricanes

USA: The return to raise prices of petrol by hurricanes
The prices of petrol on Sunday surpassed five dollars a gallon in some parts of the country after Hurricane Ike paralyzed refineries and pipelines, while that destroyed at least 10 extraction platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Quite beyond the areas directly hit by winds and flooding, Ike left behind a strange pattern of prices at the pump, with differences of up to a dollar a gallon in some states, and even in different sectors of cities.

"I just spend three gas stations with prices iban from about 3.50 U.S. dollars up (see other) to five U.S. dollars located very near there," said Claire Raines, who lives near Knoxville, you have.

The average price exceeded four dollars per gallon in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Hawaii and Alaska, according to the National Association of Motorists, the information service on Oil Prices and the company Wright Express.

The states receiving gasoline directly from the refineries located along the Gulf of Mexico coast were particularly affected, and supplies could be sporadic over the next several weeks that refineries will be inactive, said Tom Kloza, principal analyst of oil Information services on Oil Prices.

A gas station in Knoxville, you have requested 5.19 dollars per gallon of regular gasoline. In Nashville, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) away, petrol was sold at 3.50.

The Ike seems to have destroyed a number of production platforms and damaged several of pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, federal authorities reported on Sunday.

The overflights carried out revealed that the storm destroyed at least 10 extraction platforms, said Lars Herbst, regional director of the Federal Minerals Management (MMS, for its acronym in English).

"It is too early to say whether approaches the damage caused (by hurricanes) Katrina and Rita," said Herbst.

The MMS said that Hurricane Katrina destroyed 44 platforms three years ago, and shortly after Rita finished with 64.

Herbst emphasized that assessments are preliminary, but the damage appears to be much worse than that caused by Hurricane Gustav two weeks ago. For the time being unaware data on the size and production capacity of the platforms destroyed.

Herbst said that aerial inspections showed that Ike affected several major pipelines, but it is unknown how serious the injury was, nor whether they were oil or natural gas.

Texas began the mass evacuation before the arrival of devastating Ike

Texas began the mass evacuation before the arrival of devastating Ike
Houston and Texas coastal areas were subjected to massive evacuations on Thursday before the arrival Friday of this devastating hurricane Ike, already hit hard the Caribbean, where he left a trail of destruction and death.

The Texas governor, Rick Perry, alerted the population of imminent danger: "My message to Texans (living) in the area of impact is expected this: complete their preparations because Ike is dangerous and is on its way," he warned.

After having caused more than a hundred dead in the Caribbean, the hurricane was at 05H00 of this Friday over the Gulf of Mexico, about 545 km from Galveston, the coastal city nearest to Houston, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Ike should touch the coast in southern Galveston from Friday night, but the weather should worsen before, according to forecasts. The cyclone "could become a hurricane before reaching the higher expense", with winds of 190 kph, the NHC warned.

The agency based in Miami issued a special bulletin in which he warned that "people who do not obey the evacuation orders in houses or double-decker will face certain death" in coastal areas from Texas to receive the blow, mainly Galveston.

"Coastal Communities prone to flooding will be isolated," he said.

Roads and bridges in the area remained congested by tens of thousands of vehicles and the authorities of Harris County, which is part of Houston, announced the evacuation of flooded neighborhoods, where 250,000 people live, starting with the most vulnerable people, elderly, sick or disabled.

"We have sent, and continue sending (military aircraft) C-130 and ambulances", and "we have sent 1,350 buses to the region," elaborated one of the highest executive authorities Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, being interviewed on CNN .

President George W. Bush, who decreed a state of emergency in Texas, met with the secretary of Homeland Security, Chertoff David, and the director of the Federal Agency for Emergency Management (FEM) David Paulison, as well as the governor of Texas.

"He was informed about the route and the strength of the cyclone, which should be very important," said White House spokesman, Dana Perino.

Houston fourth largest city in the United States, has 2.2 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area of 5.6 million.

The city is the control center of NASA, which closed on Thursday. Monitoring activities of flights were secured by teams in Austin (Texas) and Huntsville (Alabama, south), NASA explained in a statement.

For the moment, this is a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with maximum 5, with winds of 160 mph, but is expected to intensify in the coming hours.

"We did not expect to arrive so close to us," said Joe Steinebaker, responsible for communication of Harris County, who warned that the hurricane could create waves of up to five metres high in Galveston.

Some people, however opposed the evacuation order, as Leslie LeGrand, a resident of Galveston, explaining that "except that you really bad, we are not going anywhere."

His neighbor, Cecilia Padnos, expected to give Ike a turn last minute. During the passage of Rita in 2005, but had to move the hurricane passed on the other hand.

If the directors of the oil port of Corpus Christi, much further south, hesitate to evacuate, the production of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico was almost completely interrupted before the arrival of the hurricane, despite the fact that "current projections show that (Ike) will not affect most of the oil and gas installations in the Gulf ", announced the Department of Energy said in a statement.

Ike moves toward the U.S. coast after leaving a hundred dead in Haiti and great destruction in rural areas, and another five dead in Cuba, where more than 200,000 houses were destroyed.

Ike put on alert to Houston

Ike put on alert to Houston
HOUSTON - Rudy Rios and his wife Alicia not much speculated. As they realized that Hurricane Ike was headed to Galveston and Houston se iban to suffer the powerful winds from the cyclone, the couple marked the 311 and requested help to be evacuated.

"We live down the street in a trailita Telephone (mobile homes), so when we heard that there will be very strong winds do not think twice and we decided to go, it's best not to risk it," said Alicia.

"We have no car, so for us our only option was to go into these buses, we were told that lead us to Mesquite, Texas, but that's not really that important, it is far from Ike are happy," added Rios.

According to reports the National Hurricane Center, Ike made landfall on Friday night between 12 and the morning of Saturday, September 13, probably in western Galveston Island, a few miles southwest of Houston.

The couple Rivers are just two of hundreds of people were arriving on Thursday at the Convention Centre George R. Brown in downtown Houston to be registered and then transferred to different shelters in the state in the cities of San Antonio, Austin, Mesquite, Huntsville and Dallas. To do so, a large fleet of buses was sent to Houston to transport evacuees who had no means of transport.

According to figures from the emergency operations center in San Antonio, which coordinates much of the aid in the region, 1263 buses were hired to transport evacuees and many of them were sent to Houston and other parts of the coast texana.

Many others left the city in their private cars.

The public bus service within the city (Metro) will be suspended at 1 pm on Friday September 12 and will resume on Sunday depending on the damage resulting Ike.

In the city Space preparations of its residents were obvious: long lines to load fuel in supermarkets and on the highways I-45 North, 288 North and I-10 West.

These roads were traffic jams throughout the day. For this noon was declared a mandatory evacuation for the entire city of Galveston and nine postcodes Harris County, where he sits Houston (codes 77058, 77059, 77062, 77507, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586 and 77598) . However, the heavy traffic was not at first reason enough for the authorities decide to open lanes contraflujo on major highways.

"We must take into account that people of the city that will remain in their homes must make their preparations and also require transit highways," said Bill White, mayor of Houston, during a press conference that the authorities on Thursday gave 11 from the Central Emergency Trans Star, in Houston.

The mayor made it clear that Houston is not an area shelters because the city is on the path of the hurricane.

"The people who come from parties that will be affected by Ike should not come to Houston seeking shelter because we are in the danger zone; should go to areas that are ready to receive them," said White.

The official asked the people who will stay to take necessary precautions to buy food and water for at least three days and to be prepared in case of losing electric service for several days.

Although the hurricane is projected to touch land between Friday night and Saturday morning, the effects of Ike were already evident around 4 pm on Thursday 11 and not necessarily by inclement weather: some gas stations in the price for a gallon gasoline reached $ 3.90 dollars when just the day before one could buy a gallon between $ 3.50 and $ 3.60.

Some people called the radio station AM 740 KTRH complaining that there were gas stations charging more than $ 4 dollars per gallon.

"They are taking advantage of the situation and we are evacuating people on the highway I-10 West, it is not possible for an overnight rise almost 40 cents gasoline," said a frustrated listeners. Some petrol stations have begun to collapse.

The system of airports in Houston announced that commercial flights would cease to exit at 2 o'clock in the afternoon of Friday's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and 9 am Hobby Airport.

Meanwhile, at the stadium Minute Maid Park during the game between local Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates, baseball and the few fans who came to the park learned that the parties on Friday and Saturday before the Chicago Cubs had been postponed .

"I wish that Ike does not quite good pace as we bring, but that's not really that important, this is a game and nothing else people need to be concentrated in caring for their families and take appropriate precautions," said the relay Jose Valverde.

The Astros were not the only ones who suffered the consequences of Ike: the party of the Houston Texans (NFL) was moved to Monday at 7:30 pm at Reliant Stadium.

The evacuees seeking refuge travel to other cities Texans. And those who remain are prepared to face heavy rain, winds and high tides in coastal areas.

The weekend will be dramatic in Houston. In Harris County, where Houston is located, lived nearly 4 million people. In the nearby counties of Brazoria, Fort Bend and Galveston, which will also be affected by Ike, living at least another million people.

Mandatory evacuation:
Brazoria County
Chambers County
Galveston County
Jackson County
Jefferson County
Matagorda County
Orange County

Voluntary evacuation
Hardin County
Friendswood
Pearland

In Harris County, people who are considered at risk have also voluntarily evacuated.

Close air traffic in Houston by Hurricane

Close air traffic in Houston by Hurricane
The Houston Airport System explained that cease to operate International Airport George W. Bush, the main air terminal in the city starting tomorrow
Houston, USA .- Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, will be closed to commercial air traffic since at 14:00 hours (19:00 GMT) at its three airports due to the arrival of Hurricane Ike to the area .

The Houston Airport System explained that cease to operate International Airport George W. Bush, the main air terminal in the city, as well as airports William P. Hobby and Ellington Field, until they pass the emergency.

No airline will operate next Saturday and is expected that, depending on the impact of natural phenomenon, flights resume from Sunday.

The airline Continental, which is in Houston one of their main bases, reported that suspended their flights to and from the same city at noon tomorrow Friday.

Southwest Airlines stated that no longer operate its flights to the airport William P. Hobby starting at 09:00 hours (14:00 GMT) on Friday, in anticipation of the deteriorating weather conditions in the area.

Other airlines with traffic to and from Houston, as United and American Airlines, also announced the cancellation of flights from tomorrow Friday.

For his part, Johnson Space Center of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space), in Houston, stopped operating this Thursday to move its Flight Control Centre teams in Austin, Texas, and Huntsville, Alabama.

The Flight Control Center monitors the mission of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Houston starts mass evacuation before arrival of devastating Hurricane Ike

Houston starts mass evacuation before arrival of devastating Hurricane Ike
People in Houston, fourth U.S. city, on Thursday launched a mass evacuation before the arrival on Friday the coast of Texas (south) of Hurricane Ike, already hit hard the Caribbean, where he left a trail of destruction and death .

The Texas governor, Rick Perry, alerted the population of imminent danger: "My message to Texans (living) in the area of impact is expected this: complete their preparations because Ike is dangerous and is on its way," he warned.

After having caused more than a hundred dead in the Caribbean, the hurricane was at 21H00 GMT over the Gulf of Mexico, about 645 km from Gavelston, the coastal city nearest to Houston, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC ) Based in Miami.

Ike should touch the coast in southern Gavelston from Friday night, but the weather should worsen before, according to forecasts.

Roads and bridges were congested by tens of thousands of vehicles and the authorities of Harris County, which is part of the city texana, announced having started at 17H00 GMT evacuation of the flooded neighborhoods, where 250,000 people live, starting with the most vulnerable people, elderly, sick or disabled.

"We have sent, and continue sending (military aircraft) C-130 and ambulances", and "we have sent 1,350 buses to the region," elaborated one of the highest executive authorities Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, being interviewed on CNN .

President George W. Bush, who decreed a state of emergency in Texas, met with the secretary of Homeland Security, Chertoff David, and the director of the Federal Agency for Emergency Management (FEM) David Paulison, as well as the governor of Texas.

"He was informed about the route and the strength of the cyclone, which should be very important," said White House spokesman, Dana Perino.

Houston is a city of 2.2 million with a metropolitan area of 5.6 million.

The city is the control center of NASA, which closed on Thursday and did not resume its activities until the hurricane passes. Monitoring activities of flights were secured by teams in Austin (Texas) and Huntsville (Alabama, south), NASA explained in a statement.

For the moment, this is a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with maximum 5, with winds of 160 mph, but is expected to intensify in the coming hours and could reach Category 3 strength, and its winds should blow over 190 mph to reach Texas.

"We did not expect to arrive so close to us," said Joe Steinebaker, responsible for communication of Harris County, who warned that the hurricane could create waves of up to five metres high in Galveston. That could be "catastrophic" for certain people, he said, adding: "we want these people to go."

"This could almost be like a tsunami," said Dewhurst.

Some people, however opposed the evacuation order, as Leslie LeGrand, a resident of Galveston, explaining that "except that you really bad, we are not going anywhere."

His neighbor, Cecilia Padnos, expected to give Ike a turn last minute. During the passage of Rita in 2005, but had to move the hurricane passed on the other hand.

If the directors of the oil port of Corpus Christi, much further south, hesitate to evacuate, the production of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico was almost completely interrupted before the arrival of the hurricane, despite the fact that "current projections show that (Ike) will not affect most of the oil and gas installations in the Gulf ", announced the Department of Energy said in a statement.

Ike moves toward the U.S. coast after leaving a hundred dead in Haiti and great destruction in rural areas, and another five dead in Cuba, where more than 200,000 houses were destroyed.

Hurricane Ike affect oil production, refineries in U.S.

Hurricane Ike affect oil production, refineries in U.S.
The hurricane caused Ike on Thursday, interrupting nearly 7 percent of fuel supplies from the United States and maintained production offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico at a minimum level because the companies were preparing for the fourth Threat of storm this summer Boreal.

The weather forecasts say that Ike, who charged force on warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, probably plague the Texas coast west of Houston on Friday night or Saturday morning, which carries the risk of significant harm to refineries in the area.

"Based on the size and the projected strength of Ike, I fear that there is the potential for a massive storm between 10 and 15 feet, maybe higher, along with storm surges flooding and severe damage to the huge complex refining Bay Gavelston, and Texas City, "said Jim Rouiller, meteorologist for Planalytics.

Four refineries with a combined capacity of 1.16 million barrels per day or 6.7 percent of the capacity of the nation and which are located along the Gulf Coast, had already ceased its operation as a precaution.

The energy sector in the United States has been forced to evacuate workers at least four times this summer because of boreal storms that have entered the Gulf of Mexico, starting with Dolly the hurricane in mid-July.

Offshore, oil companies, which still bear the impact of Hurricane Gustav over a week ago, stopped over 95 percent of its oil production and more than 73 percent of natural gas, according to the latest data the Minerals Management Service.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to a quarter of crude oil production in the United States and 15 percent of its natural gas production.

Meanwhile, the Offshore Oil Port, stopped unloading tankers Louisiana and the Coast Guard stopped traffic coming into the Houston Ship Channel, obstructing major conduit for imports.

It was expected that the output of the offshore region recover quite quickly, because the trajectory of what Ike would place enough to the south and west as to reduce the risk of harm.

"This forecast will leave the area of high density and the 'heart of the area of energy production' of southern Louisiana and adjacent positions in northern Gulf of Mexico away from the destructive wrath of Ike. Therefore, I hope that operations will increase in the region early next week, "said Rouiller.

Still, the impact of Gustav and Ike on energy production in the United States already has been strong, reducing the pumping crude at around 14.1 million barrels, natural gas at 67,900 billion cubic feet, and processing of the refineries by about 15.2 million barrels.

Hurricanes: to issue evacuation orders for Texas

Hurricanes: to issue evacuation orders for Texas
Hurricane "Ike" was strengthened on Wednesday in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico while en route to the coast of Texas, where authorities began evacuating the first of several million residents who might be in the path of the meteor.

"Ike" rose to Category 2 and is likely to gain even more strength before its vortex clash against the Texas coast Saturday morning.

The authorities warned on Wednesday one million people who shy away from the coast before the path toward Ike point where Texas is the largest concentration of chemical plants and refineries in the country.

Four counties in the south and east of Houston announced voluntary or mandatory evacuations, and authorities began to move in buses or weak patients with chronic ailments to San Antonio, 305 kilometers (190 miles) from Houston.

It also issued an evacuation order mandatory for the eastern end of Galveston Island. No immediate evacuations were ordered in Harris County, which includes Houston.

Approximately one million people live in coastal counties between Corpus Christi and Galveston. Additionally, 4 million reside in the Houston area, to the north.

The federal authorities pledged not verify the immigration status of people in areas where residents gather to be evacuated or roadblocks inland.

Residents, however, seemed skeptical and there are fears that many undocumented refuse to deal with buses and go to shelters for fear of being arrested and deported.

The county judge of Hidalgo J. D. Salinas said that if an evacuation is ordered compulsory, visited the neighborhoods of immigrants and forced residents to flee their homes.

After the hurricane "Katrina" and "Gustav",''there were many immigrants who said 'I'm not''' said Salinas, chairman of the county in the Bravo River delta. ''It will be difficult.''

''People are nervous''said Father Michael Seifert, a defender of the rights of immigrants. ''The message I got is that going to be a real problem.''

One reason to be skeptical is that last May, the secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, said the Border Patrol would not do nothing to prevent an evacuation in the event of a hurricane.

However, when Hurricane "Dolly" hit the Rio Grande Valley in late July, not any mandatory evacuation was ordered as a result and the Border Patrol remained open their checkpoints. The officers then stopped a van with immigrants without papers.
The authorities of Matagorda County, halfway between Houston and Corpus Christi, began a mandatory evacuation for those residing in coastal areas. Judge Nate McDonald said the county hoped that the region is the site where land tap the center of the storm.

Predicts that the cyclone "Ike" will cause extensive damage on the coast of Texas

Predicts that the cyclone "Ike" will cause extensive damage on the coast of Texas
The cyclone "Ike", which has caused at least 66 dead in Haiti and four in Cuba, today reached the category two on their way to Texas, where he will arrive next Saturday and could cause "extensive damage

Felix Garcia, meteorologist of the National Hurricane Center (CNH) U.S., headquartered in Miami, predicted that the cyclone "Ike" could landfall as a hurricane category three or four (out of five on the Saffir scale - Simpson) in Texas.

The arrival of "Ike" to Texas, he predicted, will generate "very high tides" that will produce destruction and heavy damage in the coastal area of the state.

The intensity of its winds "could make flying start roofs and vehicles and lots of trees," Garcia warned.

He felt that this is perhaps the hurricane "definitely" more dangerous of the year and recalled that the cyclone season of Atlanta has now entered its phase "peak".

The U.S. president, George W. Bush today declared an emergency in Texas and ordered federal aid to support state and local authorities in their preparations for response to Hurricane "Ike".

Hurricane "Ike" won intensity today, the category two climb on their way to Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometres per hour and "could become a hurricane higher in the next 24 hours", on its way through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, according to CNH.

The huge hurricane "Ike", which swept Cuba from east to west, "could become a hurricane higher in the next 24 hours", as it passes over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, according to experts.

Garcia explained that computer models of CNH indicate that after "Ike" could arise "new formations" and not ruled out the formation of new hurricanes in the Caribbean or the Atlantic, though hardly be exceeded forecasts of CNH for this season.

Once "Ike" dissipate, the meteorologist continued, the waters of the Gulf of Mexico will be "warm", something that will impede the formation of a cyclone of this magnitude.

However, Florida could not "sing victory yet, despite that three major hurricanes that have been recorded so far this season (" Gustav "," Hanna "and" Ike ") have not affected this state, he said .

In the current hurricane season in Atlanta (June 1 to November 30) have been formed ten tropical storms and five hurricanes.

Meteorologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that U.S. this season was going to be very active, with the possible formation of 14 to 18 tropical storms, of which between seven and 10 could become hurricanes.

Texas prepares for Ike

Texas prepares for Ike
As Hurricane Ike gained strength over the Gulf of Mexico towards the Texas coast, authorities were preparing on Wednesday to evacuate a million people.

Meteorologists of the National Hurricane Center predicted that Ike force charged over the warm Gulf of Mexico before landfall near Corpus Christi on Saturday morning.

If the Texans authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation, would be the first large-scale in the history of this coastal state. The state and county authorities tended to let the people decide on their own if they left the area until Hurricane Rita swept the coast in 2005. Now the county authorities may order the mandatory evacuation.

The evacuation would affect the impoverished Rio Grande Valley, where many undocumented immigrants feared that traditionally join an evacuation at the possibility of being deported if arrested by the authorities. Some county officials said they will visit the neighborhoods of immigrants and require residents to flee their homes.

After hurricanes Katrina and Gustav "there were many immigrants who refused to leave''said JD Salinas, president of the Hidalgo County in the delta of the Rio Grande." It's going to be difficult.''

Gov. Rick Perry declared 88 counties disaster coastal areas to begin channeling aid, 7500 mobilized National Guard members and began preparations for evacuation "adapting buses instead of bags for corpses.''

Officials of Texas prepared the emergency evacuation of people with special medical needs in the area of Corpus Christi, who on Wednesday were transferred by bus to San Antonio, and reported that the state allocated a lane in the interstate highway heading north to those who want to leave now.

The authorities recommended residents Texans in the direction of Ike possible to do three things: listen to the official notices, pay attention to weather forecasts and fill their fuel tanks.

"We have a team of fuel which is part of the overall operation''in Austin, said the governor's spokeswoman, Allison Castle." They help distribute fuel in the hurricane areas. One of the lessons we learned from past hurricanes is that we must have available all kinds of fuels.''

Rains threaten to flood Cuba after passage of Ike

Rains threaten to flood Cuba after passage of Ike
Heavy rains left by Hurricane Ike continued to plague to Cuba on Wednesday, causing floods that disrupted highways and left isolated villages, authorities said.

The western province of Pinar del Rio, on Tuesday onslaught by Ike and 10 before by Hurricane Gustav, remained under "hurricane warning" by the heavy rains.

"We remain heavy rain that could cause flooding and landslides especially in mountainous areas," said the Meteorological Institute of Cuba.

The overall division Ramon Pardo, head of the Civil Defence, was even clearer: "The floods are the new danger."

The Institute of Meteorology said the accumulated rainfall were "significant". In Pinar del Rio, for example, were reported rainfall between 100 and 163 millimetres.

The national highway which crosses Cuba tip to tip, was cut in a stretch of three kilometres by an overflowing river about 166 kilometres east of Havana.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces rescued dozens of people threatened by floods from rivers in various parts of the country, state television said.

The authorities monitored the flooding of rivers in the eastern province of Granma, where a dozen dams are full and are causing floods that left more than 80 houses under water.

Also critical is the situation in areas of the province of Matanzas, east of Havana, where images displayed by state television, some streets seemed rivers of brown water.

The television also showed images Tuesday of Ciego de Avila in central Cuba, where the overflow of a gap caused unprecedented floods in the city centre.

Ike came to Cuba on Sunday to the east, then left the Caribbean Sea to the south on Tuesday and went through Pinar del Rio, where Hurricane Gustav had already damaged over 100,000 houses.

Although the hurricane has already been lost in the Gulf of Mexico, the Cuban authorities warned that the rains will continue feeling that creeps over on Wednesday.

More than 2.6 million people were evacuated this week before the arrival of Ike, which represents 20 percent of the population of the island.

Ike moves away from Cuba where he left 4 dead and enters the Gulf of Mexico

Ike moves away from Cuba where he left 4 dead and enters the Gulf of Mexico
The powerful hurricane Ike moves away from Cuba on Tuesday due to the Gulf of Mexico after leaving four dead, tens of thousands of victims, 2.6 million evacuees, towns under water, houses and buildings in rubble and razed large areas of cultivation.

Ike, with winds of 120 mph, category one (maximum of five), is located in the southeast Gulf, where it could become "a major hurricane," after leaving Cuba for the north coast 120 km west of Havana, reported the National Hurricane Center in the United States to 00h00 GMT on Wednesday.

Although he left Cuba, strong winds from the devastating cyclone still feel in Havana, who was paralyzed, without work, transit and trade, with its 2.2 million people locked up under guard, without light or drinking water.

Ike, 66 victims who joined the more than 600 dead in Haiti to leave the cyclone Fay, Hanna and Gustav, caused four deaths in Cuba and in its journey from east to west swept tens of thousands of houses, buildings, crops, trees, energy networks and communications.

Electricity poles, traffic signs, traffic lights and downed trees or inclined by force winds were observed in the streets of Havana, traveled alone for any patrol that by loudspeakers warned of the need not to go.

"Everything is trance. We feel that is flying around out there, sheets of zinc in the air and I heard trees that fell," narró to AFP a housewife for 49 years, sheltered in his home in the Vedado neighborhood.

Giant waves hit against the Malecon. Some 250,000 people were housed in Havana, thousands of the historic quarter-World Heritage Site, where it was feared collapse of old buildings and houses in poor condition.

"Although there remains the danger away from the rains that can be strong and locally intense in some areas" and still cause flooding, meteorologist Jose Rubiera warned on Tuesday night.

Before going out to sea, Ike punished with severe flooding and gusts of up to 300 meters peoples of the north coast of Pinar del Rio, where more than 160,000 were evacuated and where ten days ago crossed Hurricane Gustav.

During his tenure with the West, Ike also affected Matanzas, which evacuated 13,000 tourists from resort of Varadero, the main tourist attraction.

The cyclone was the 14 provinces of Cuba under maximum alert, with 2.6 million evacuees, after entering on Sunday, a first time, with strength in the eastern Holguin 3.

Almost the entire country was in darkness for damages in electricity infrastructure and the deactivation of service for safety.

By improving the climate in the east came into the recovery phase of destruction. "Only in Holguin there are 87,424 houses affected, of whom over 37,000 totally destroyed, over 3,586 hectares of agricultural plantations affected," said first secretary of the Communist Party in Holguin, Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Buildings and houses were left in rubble by floods in Gibara, coastal town of Holguin. In the streets of the eastern Camaguey water reached four meters.

Chaparro, a town of 51,000 inhabitants in the eastern Las Tunas, was about to be wiped off the map, and in Baracoa, Guantanamo, far east, the waves reached five-storey buildings and floods washed away with everything in its path.

Also, Ike forced the Cuban authorities to stop "temporarily" the production of nickel, the main export product, as reported by the Ministry of Basic Industry.

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, gave the ruler of Cuba, Raúl Castro, sending aid to Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, expressed solidarity and offered assistance Mexico.

United States proposed sending experts to assess damage, as it had done after Gustav, but that first time in Havana declined the offer, according to the Department of State.

A tropical storm warning applies to the keys of southern Florida before Ike, threatening the oilfields of the Gulf of Mexico, an area that already suffered a Gustav, which trajectory similar to the current cyclone left a hundred dead in Caribbean and the United States, mostly in Haiti.

In the Dominican Republic, caused by persistent rains that Ike what keeps 17,000 people displaced from their homes and nearly 100 people incommunicado, reported the emergency operations centre.

Hurricane Ike threat to south Texas

Hurricane Ike threat to south Texas
At a time when the hurricane Ike goes to the Gulf of Mexico, emergency authorities in Texas were preparing on Tuesday to order one million people were evacuated from the impoverished region of the Rio Grande Valley.

In addition, tried to persuade tens of thousands of illegal immigrants that has less to fear from the immigration authorities that the storm.

Officials responsible for planning emergency measures met all day to decide whether an evacuation is ordered and when the forced withdrawal of settlers from coastal counties near the border with Mexico.

By owning forecasts showing that Ike could fall to earth this weekend, authorities prepared about 1,000 buses if necessary to move many poor and elderly who do not own cars.

Federal authorities, meanwhile, gave assurances that not reviewed the immigration status of people in areas where they pick up the evacuees or inspection posts.

However, people were skeptical and there were fears that many undocumented would refuse to deal with buses and go to shelters for fear of being arrested and deported.

"People are nervous. The message that I got is that going to be a real problem," said Catholic priest Michael Seifert, an advocate of immigrants.

Another reason for scepticism is that last May the secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, said that the Border Patrol would not do anything to prevent the evacuation in the event of a hurricane, but when Hurricane Dolly came to the Rio Grande Valley at the end of July was not issued any evacuation order mandatory.

As a result, the Border Patrol remained open and review their positions shortly after authorities stopped a van loaded with illegal immigrants.

It would be the first large-scale mandatory evacuation in the history of south Texas. The state and county authorities let people decide for themselves whether they wanted to leave the area until the area shortly before Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf Coast of Mexico in 2005.

But now local authorities can instruct people to leave the danger zone.

At 0000 GMT, the vortex of Ike was located at 153 kilometers (95 miles) west of Havana, Cuba, and was moving west-northwest at 16 kilometers per hour (10 mph) with gusts of wind up to 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph).

It is expected that the storm crossing the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened again into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane that could reach maximum sustained winds of up to 209 kilometers per hour (130 mph)

Gulf of Mexico, under the threat of Ike

Gulf of Mexico, under the threat of Ike
Residents in some states with coasts on the Gulf of Mexico anxiously watched how Hurricane Ike was directed to areas still Atar en cleanup after Hurricane Gustav.

Much of eastern Texas was declared a disaster area and residents in LA again received instructions to source.

The Texas governor, Rick Perry, accelerated preparations with the declarations of disaster in 88 counties, and the National Hurricane Center warned that the storm could arrive this weekend to the state, not far from Corpus Christi. Perry also placed some 7,500 National Guard members on alert.

However, the bearings of storms are difficult to predict several days in advance, and meteorologists said that Ike could reach any point on earth from LA to Mexico. Ike has caused at least 79 deaths in its passage through the Caribbean, mostly in Haiti.

"While Hurricane Gustav is still fresh in the minds of residents along the coast, we must now turn our attention to Hurricane Ike, which represents a threat to the Texas coast," said Perry, who also requested a presidential declaration of disaster for counties.

In Louisiana, where thousands were still without electricity after the passage of Gustav last week, the governor Bobby Jindal called for residents to begin to stock up on food, water, batteries and other supplies. The state also was preparing to enlist shelters and trains, buses and planes for the event that an evacuation is necessary coast.

The Federal Emergency Agency (WEF) was not sure about when evacuations occur on the coasts. It takes at least 24 to 48 hours before the authorities have a clearer idea of the direction of Ike _ and needed to evacuate an area 48 hours before a storm winds begin to whip.

Jindal said that does not provide the kind of mass evacuation forced by Gustav, which emptied most of southern Louisiana, including New Orleans area. But even without a scourge direct, low-lying areas of the state could face strong tides, winds and rains.

Residents of the Florida Keys, while, they were relieved that Ike around the west, avoiding the chain of islands a potential disaster.

Cuba: Three hurricanes in nine days

Cuba: Three hurricanes in nine days
For the third time in just nine days, Cubans tested and confirmed the effectiveness of its civil defense system, to face three deadly hurricanes: Ike, Gustav, and Hanna.

With an organization recognized by UN agencies, the entire nation took the challenge as a call a general alarm fighter, in the end the key element.

The island was impacted by several points of its geography by capricious winds, in the case of Gustav, reached a record 340 kilometres per hour on its way through the province of Pinar del Rio.

This is the first time in the history of the national meteorological records, furthermore, that three hurricanes hitting the Caribbean island state in such a short period of time, as is that two of them-Ike and Gustav-entered and left almost the same points in the West.

Desolation and pain; social houses and buildings demolished; plantations of fruit, grains and vegetables missing; overflowing rivers; floods and penetrations of the sea hundreds of metres in depth; clothing, food, furniture and equipment electrodométicos destroyed.

Crops of importance such as coffee, rice and sugarcane ruined; industries detained; centers of poultry production, swine and dairy out of service; fractured or flooded roads; hundreds of poles of electric power transmission and trees uprooted or parties.

Ike beat over a thousand kilometres of land on the island. More than 150,000 cans of coffee are in the soil and mobilization for the collection of grain will be imminent.

The world has witnessed once again the conduct of Cubans against these exceptional circumstances imposed by nature in this area of the planet, where the effect of climate change is evident every year and more lethal.

In all cases, troops of the Armed Forces headed decisively in both phases of preparation and recovery and support to those affected.

The Cuban president, General of Army Raúl Castro, remained in communication with key leaders in the provinces threatened.

The Head of State directed to the highest authorities in each territory to use all available means to protect lives and property and resources of both State and the population.

"His encouragement and his message of confidence and full support in these conditions have been vital," he said.

Gustav to hit 140,000 buildings, 90,000 of which were houses.

Ike led to the cessation of production of nickel, a major export items of Cuba, and converted warehouses and port facilities in disaster areas; roofing tiles and light flew again to become deadly projectiles.

Four people died during his tenure: two electrocuted and the other by landslides.

Ike, who entered Cuba with category four on the Saffir-Simpson scale of five, left fifty dead in Haiti, among these 13 children.

Nearly two million people were evacuated in Cuba on this occasion, as part of security measures imposed by the Civil Defence. Of the 14 provinces, 13 were placed under hurricane warning or alarm.

The country was virtually paralyzed to deal with it. Step by step, minute by minute, the Cubans again woven its complex web of countless actions and measures to prevent and protect themselves in situations of this kind.

A colleague described the set of tasks of the Civil Defense as "a perfect mechanism watch," while another stated that the Cubans took the brunt of Gustav, and Hanna Ike "as a great army." True.

The leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, comparing the consequences of the passage of these phenomena with a nuclear blow.

But the hurricane season in the Caribbean has not ended. A dozen of these have been generated so far and, according to forecasts before November 30 can be formed. October is the month most likely whirlwind of great intensity.

How many? Nobody dares to make such precision. The international body that gives names to these phenomena before another 11 for the remainder until that date.

Kyle, Laura, Marco and eight claims are identifying more taxes in advance up to Wilfred, who was supposedly the last.

How many of these will impact the territory of the largest island in the Caribbean? Nor is it possible to predict.

What will the response and the keys of Cubans? Organization, discipline, solidarity and unconditional support of its institutions and leaders. Nobody will be abandoned to their fate.

Ike. four deaths and destruction in Cuba after killing 66 in Haiti

Ike. four deaths and destruction in Cuba after killing 66 in Haiti

Hurricane Ike left four dead and a trail of destruction in Cuba and will arrive on Tuesday, weakened but always with danger, west of the island en route to the Gulf of Mexico, having caused 66 deaths in Haiti.

In category one (out of 5) with winds of 130 kph, Ike moves along the south coast to cross Cuba by the west on Tuesday between the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio, punished for nine days by Hurricane Gustav.

In fact unusual for Cuba, with a system for disaster prevention internationally recognized, four people were killed: a woman when her house collapsed, two men electrocuted and another died in the collapse of a wall in villages of central and east, according to a official note.

With more than two million evacuees, throughout the country work was suspended, banned the movement and population had been instructed to remain on guard, while rescue teams and law enforcement officers patrolling the streets to help affected by landslides and floods .

"The situation is extremely complex," said Jorge Cuevas, president of the Council for the Defence of the province of Las Tunas. "There is no electricity, the damage is a major economic facilities and social, health, education, hotels," said in turn that of Holguin, Miguel Diaz-Canel.

At 23H00 local (03H00 GMT), Ike's eye was 40 km southeast of Bay of Pigs and 225 km southeast of Havana, Cuba on Tuesday and will cross will toward the Gulf of Mexico at night, according to the National Center Hurricane United States (NHC).

Ike swept the east and centre of the island, leaving destroyed homes, uprooted trees, flooded crops, poles toppled, villages without light and incommunicado.

"I still remains very dangerous by the rains and winds" that will download on Tuesday, now in the west, on Havana and the provinces of Matanzas, Havana and Pinar del Rio, said meteorologist Jose Rubiera.

In Havana, 2.2 million inhabitants, 169,000 people were evacuated, 20,000 of Old Havana (World Heritage), where it is feared the collapse of buildings and old houses and in poor condition.

Camaguey, whose historic center was recently declared a World Heritage Site, suffered a "severe flooding". "The situation is difficult, the streets are with water five meters above normal," described the president's Council of Defense provincial, Julio Cesar Garcia.

"In 59 years I've seen other cyclones, but not with this destruction. It's impressive," narró an inhabitant from Camaguey, by telephone.

Waves of up to 10 meters rose up to more than five-storey buildings on the shores of Baracoa, eastern end. The penetration of the sea took entire houses. "I have never seen anything like," said one witness.

In Matanzas, where is the resort of Varadero, the main tourist centre of Cuba evacuated more than 13,000 tourists, the streets were deserted and shops closed, found a journalist from AFP.

Sandbags argued the roofs of houses and buildings, sheets tied with ropes and planks of wood covered the crystals. "It is worth more caution than having to regret," said Alexander Montesinos, a restaurant manager in Varadero.

The president Raúl Castro met with the General Staff of the Council of Civil Defense-leaders of the Communist Party-and gave instructions. He and his brother, the leader Fidel Castro, still to-the-minute progress of the hurricane, the television said.

"The whole nation is now at war with what is called alarm fighter," wrote Fidel, removed from power by illness.

The hurricane warning was discontinued for the keys of southern Florida and the tourist city of Key West, the southernmost U.S., but the threat is on the oilfields of the Gulf of Mexico, so the price of crude oil rose.

The Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell began evacuating offshore platforms in the Gulf, the U.S. ExxonMobil assesses the situation, and French Total return to land his staff on Wednesday.

Ike plaguing the area a week after the devastating blow of Gustav, which left hundreds dead in the Caribbean and the United States, mostly in Haiti, where 500 others were killed in the recent passage of Hanna and Fay.

Hurricane Ike Cuba 47 dead in Haiti

Hurricane Ike Cuba 47 dead in Haiti
Hurricane Ike plaguing this Monday eastern Cuba with floods, enormous waves, heavy rains and winds, leaving behind 47 dead in Haiti at its dangerous path to the Gulf of Mexico and the coasts of the United States.

Ike, forcing the evacuation of more than one million people in Cuba, fell in the morning to category two on the Saffir-Simpson scale (five), with winds of 165 kph, after entering earth with grade three on Sunday night in Cape Lucrecia, in the eastern province of Holguin.

At 06H00 local (12H00 to mainland Spain), its center was located 45 km southeast of the eastern province of Camaguey and was moving toward the center of the island to 24 mph, sweeping the territory from east to west, according the Meteorological Institute, to exit near Havana on Tuesday.

Ike would continue on Tuesday "to the southeast Gulf of Mexico"-where the U.S. produces a quarter of its crude-Americans and costs, LA, and "it is possible some additional weakening" as it passes through the centre of Cuba this Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) based in Miami.

Before reaching Cuba, Ike caused rains and floods that killed 47 people in Haiti only in the town of Cabaret, near Port-au-Prince, capital of the impoverished country, where more than 600 died in total with the recent passage of cyclone Hanna , And Gustav Fay.

In the Bahamas, the hurricane swept through the roofs of many houses, trees and electricity poles, and inundated large areas Dominican Republic, although no casualties were reported, after the evacuation of more than 44,000 people.

In their wake devastating for eastern Cuba, Ike raze houses, power lines and crops in Holguin, punished with heavy rains, flooding and hurricane winds, according to local reports. "The situation is very critical," said witnesses from Holguin. "Continued rains with strong winds and electric current was cut off," said Alvaro Cruz to AFP by telephone.

In Cuba, 11 of 14 provinces are kept in "hurricane warning": Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguin, Las Tunas and Camaguey, in eastern, central Ciego de Avila, Villa Clara, Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos, and the western Matanzas. Havana and Havana City (west) remain "vigilant".

The evacuations exceed a million people, only half a million in Holguin and Camaguey, according to local reports. More than 13,000 tourists were evacuated from Varadero, the main tourist attraction, in Matanzas, 130 km east of Havana.

In Baracoa, Guantanamo (far east), the waves were over seven meters, the height of buildings of five floors. Hundreds of houses were destroyed. "I have never seen anything like," said an inhabitant of the place 57 years.

In Havana, 2.2 million inhabitants, is feared by the hundreds of old buildings and houses in the historic quarter-World Heritage Site. "We fear the domino effect", meaning that houses are destroyed by the collapse of a building, warned John Contino, the mayor of Havana.

The government called for taking all measures to avoid loss of life, and decided to suspend the academic year. Long lines formed a day earlier, on Sunday, in shops and warehouses across the country because the population is supplied food, water and candles. "The whole nation is now at war with what is called alarm fighter," said former president Fidel Castro, removed from power by illness, in a newspaper article.

Ike punishes Cuba one week after Hurricane Gustav the cross to the west with winds of 240 mph (Category 4) and gusts of up to 340 kph, apparently without leaving dead but tens of thousands of victims and enormous destruction in Pinar del Rio and Isla de la Juventud, where Castro compared with a "nuclear strike."

Gustav, which in its passage through the Caribbean and the United States left a hundred dead, mostly in Haiti, in Cuba damaged 140,000 houses, 600 schools, crops flattened and brought down power towers.

Cubans seeking to recover with the help national and international levels, but the U.S. rejected a request from Cuba to lift the economic embargo before the emergency.

Ike Hurricane weakens to Category 2, but could recover

Ike Hurricane weakens to Category 2, but could recover
Ike The hurricane weakened to Category 2 on Monday after coming to power in the northeast coast of Cuba, but meteorologists say it could regain strength while moving to the area of the Gulf of Mexico oil in the United States and possibly New Orleans.

Ike shook northeastern Cuba with winds of 105 miles per hour (165 kilometers per hour), torrential rains and big waves. The powerful storm could weaken slowly to a Category 1 on the scale five-tier Saffir-Simpson, while runs 1,125 kilometers from the island, said National Hurricane Center (CNH).

The Cuban state television showed huge waves on the shore of the sea and floods that inundated the streets in the town of Baracoa, near the eastern edge of the territory.

While it was a dangerous Category 3 hurricane, Ike remecer south of the Bahamas and added more misfortune to Haiti, the poorest country in the continent and a nation highly vulnerable to landslides generated by the rain.

Officials said that at least 61 people died in floods in Haiti, in addition to the 500 deaths last week caused by Tropical Storm Hanna.

The Meteorological Institute of Cuba said that the storm made landfall near Punta Lucrecia in the state of Holguin, about 823 kilometers southeast of Havana.

At 0900 GMT, Ike was located 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of Camaguey, Cuba, please contact the west about 15 mph (24 kph). It is hoped that the center of the storm passing through the centre of Cuba during the Monday and reach the Gulf of Mexico late the seas, according to CNH.

According to the agency's meteorologists, the rains of the hurricane could reach 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) in Cuba

While Ike was moving in the Caribbean, residents in the Florida Keys, a chain of islands connected by bridges, began to be evacuated as a precaution.

There have been reported dead in Cuba, where they were evacuated more than one million people in eastern and central parts of the country.

In the city of Holguin, a few kilometers inland from the place where he joined Ike, the tension was palpable.

"There are a lot of water, it's raining a lot. They say that is approaching. There is concern. They started to break windows," said Carmela, a hotel employee of the city, while noise was heard glass.

Ike Cuba plaguing the island while still trying recover from the devastation caused eight days ago by Hurricane Gustav, which damaged over 100,000 houses in the western province of Pinar del Rio.

The rains and wind gusts of Ike destroyed some 200 homes in Baracoa, in addition to topple trees and light poles. Telephone communications with the city were cut.

Their economic impact can be devastating, because if it maintains its trajectory affect the nickel mines of Holguin, much of the sugar cane plantations, and several major resorts on the north coast.

The most likely trajectory of the Ike lead to the border states of Texas and Louisiana, but as the long term forecasts have a significant margin of error, it would be possible for a small diversion take you to New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina killed in 2005 to 1,500 people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, leaving addition, 80,000 million dollars in losses.