US
(2008-09-12)
A homeowner carries wood as he prepares to board up the windows of his home in Houston as the city braced for the arrival of Hurricane Ike
It's so big it covers 40 percent of the Gulf of Mexico, it's getting stronger and Texas isn't going to like Ike.
Hurricane Ike's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 105 miles per hour, keeping it a Category 2 storm for now.
With the giant-size storm on the way, officials in Houston are telling people who decide to stay to hunker down, board up windows and stock up on drinking water and non-perishable food.
Ike is forecast to make landfall early tomorrow southwest of Galveston, about 50 miles southeast of downtown Houston.
The National Weather Service warns residents of Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula that those who ignore evacuation orders in single-family one- or two-story homes could "face certain death."
Forecasters say the storm surge could be 20 feet high. © Copyright 2012, Associated Press
