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Texans Take Shelter, Feel First Effects of Ike

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Hurricane Ike Continues On an Erratic Path

After tearing through the Caribbean earlier this week, Hurricane Ike is taking direct aim at Galveston and Houston. The National Weather Service warns anyone that stays in low-lying coastal areas "may face certain death" if they refuse to evacuate. Ike is expected to hit with a 20- to 25- storm surge and winds of perhaps 115 miles per hour.

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Energy officials said it will most likely be Sunday before assessments could determine the extent of disruption to the production, distribution and supply of such products as gasoline, home heating oil, synthetic rubber and ethylene, the plastic used in water bottles. The Houston area is home to a number of large chemical plants.

In Galveston, most of the story was near the seawall, where a memorial called the Praying Hand commemorates the tragic 1900 storm that killed at least 6,000 people in the nation's worst natural disaster.

Cathy Blume, a local signmaker, couldn't stay in her house, which isn't protected by the seawall, so she had planned to stay with a friend in what seemed like a safe house made of brick. But she discovered that her friend had departed for Houston.

"I'm not staying here by myself; I'm a widow," she said as she checked into the San Luis Hotel on Seawall Boulevard, across from the beach. Built on top of an old Army bunker, the hotel is the de facto media headquarters for Ike.

Lisa Cardona, 36, was riding out the storm despite the mandatory evacuation order. "I have pets, plus this is my mother's property," she said as two men, one shirtless, listened to loud music from a boombox set up in her side yard. "I have a cat I'm trying to get inside."

Was she worried? "I'm starting to get worried now," she replied. "It's starting to surge."

Richburg reported from Houston, and Achenbach reported from Galveston. Staff writer Spencer S. Hsu in Washington contributed to this report.

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