Ike Weakens; Search For Victims Under Way

Tropical Storm Ike continues to weaken as it heads up through northeastern Texas with top sustained winds near 45 mph. Forecasters warned that the system could spawn tornadoes.

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The center is expected to move into southwestern Arkansas Saturday night.

Rescue crews in high-wheel trucks, helicopters and boats ventured out to pluck people from their homes Saturday in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike. Authorities estimate there were about 140,000 or more who stayed despite warnings they could die. Emergency responders in Texas are grumbling over how many residents brushed off dire warnings and tried to ride out Hurricane Ike.

"There was a mandatory evacuation, and people didn't leave -- and that is very frustrating because now, we are having to deal with everybody who did not heed the order. This is why we do it, and they had enough time to get out. It's just unfortunate that they decided to stay," said Steve LeBlanc, city manager in Galveston.

There were nearly 1,000 rescues in Texas Saturday. And Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said nearly 600 people have been plucked from Ike's floodwaters in his state.

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. Residents of Houston emerged to take in the damage, even as glass from the JPMorgan Chase Tower -- the state's tallest building at 75 stories -- continued to rain on streets below. Trees were uprooted in the streets, road signs mangled by wind.

"I think we're like at ground zero," said Mauricio Diaz, 36, as he walked along Texas Avenue across the street from the Chase building. Metal blinds from the tower dotted the street, along with red seat cushions, pieces of a wood desk and office documents marked "highly confidential."

Ike killed dozens of people in the Caribbean but is blamed in two in the U.S.: one each in Texas and Louisiana. A woman was killed when a tree fell on her house. And a boy fell out of a boat in a Louisiana bayou. Officials expect the death toll will climb.

Arkansas Braces For Ike

Arkansans began Saturday to take precautions as Tropical Storm Ike moved northward.

Tropical Storm Ike is expected to bring wind and rain to Arkansas late Sunday and forecasters are predicting a steady deluge of rain and gusts of up to 50 mph.

People were beginning to take precautions on Saturday, but officials said they were worried that they may not be enough.

?We?ve had 50 and 60 mph winds before,? said Arkansas resident James Seale. ?I?m not saying it couldn?t do some damage. It could get the shingles and some limbs.?

Bush Declares Disaster

President George W. Bush has declared a disaster in Texas and ordered immediate federal aid.

The president's disaster declaration means federal aid will supplement state and local recovery efforts in 29 counties.

He's also trying to reassure storm victims, saying "the American people will be praying for them and will be ready to help once the storm moves on."

Ways To Help | Volunteers Mobilize; Ark. Braces

Speaking at the White House Saturday morning, Bush said rescue teams are at the ready. He also noted that "some people didn't evacuate when asked." Officials are concerned that tens of thousands of people in low-lying areas of Texas and Louisiana may have to be rescued. But, Bush said the emergency teams "are sensitive to helping people and are fully prepared to do so."

Gas Prices Rise

Bush also said state and federal officials are looking to catch gasoline price-gougers, following a run-up blamed on the shutdown of rigs and refineries. WSMV-TV reported that one Tennessee gas station manager said he had to raise his gas prices to $5.29 as a result of rising gas prices in the storm's wake.

In Arkansas, AAA said that one gas station is currently charging about $8 per gallon.

Ike landed near the nation's biggest complex of refineries and petrochemical plants, and already, prices were reacting. Gas prices nationwide rose nearly 6 cents a gallon to $3.733, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

The Department of Energy said 13 Texas refineries had been shut down because of Ike. In Louisiana, refineries were just coming back online after Hurricane Gustav.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service said there are two confirmed reports of drilling rigs adrift in the central Gulf of Mexico.

Spokeswoman Eileen Angelico said Saturday the rigs are about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast. Then-Hurricane Ike landed near the nation's biggest complex of refineries and petrochemical plants.

She said her agency, industry experts and the Coast Guard are monitoring the paths of the rigs.

Regional director Lars Herbst said the rigs have been relatively stationary for several hours. He said they expect tugs to approach to secure the rigs when sea conditions allow.

Galveston Hit Hard

The National Hurricane Center said Ike packed winds of 110 mph when it made landfall. Galveston took a direct hit from the massive storm. Numerous buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, including the historic Balinese Room and the Flagship Hotel, KPRC-TV reported. The National Hurricane Center said the eye officially landed at 2:10 a.m. in Galveston.

Sedonia Owen, 75, and her son, Lindy McKissick, defied evacuation orders in Galveston because they said they wanted to protect their neighborhood from possible looters. She was watching floodwaters recede from her front porch Saturday morning, armed with a shotgun.

"My neighbors told me, 'You've got my permission. Anybody who goes into my house, you can shoot them,"' said Owen.

In Galveston, buildings burned unattended overnight because fire crews couldn't get through flooded streets. Seventeen structures collapsed, including two apartment buildings, but authorities hadn't had any deaths reported. There was no water or power, and the main hospital had to fly critical care patients to other facilities.

Officials said they were encouraged that the storm surge topped out at only 13.5 feet -- far lower than the catastrophic 20-to-25-foot wall of water forecasters had feared, but major roads were washed out near Galveston, and the damage was still immense.

The storm, nearly as big as Texas itself, blasted a 500-mile stretch of coastline in Louisiana and Texas. It breached levees, flooded roads and led more than 1 million people to evacuate and seek shelter inland.

La. Not Spared

In Louisiana, Ike's storm surge inundated 1,800 homes. In Plaquemines Parish, near New Orleans, a sheriff's spokesman said levees were overtopped and floodwaters were higher than either hurricane Katrina or Rita.

More than 3 million customers lost power in southeast Texas, and some 140,000 more in Louisiana. That's in addition to the 60,000 still without power from Labor Day's Hurricane Gustav. Suppliers warned it could be weeks before all service was restored.

FEMA Says Its Ready

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said more than 5.5 million prepackaged meals are being sent to the region, along with more than 230 generators and 5.6 million liters of water. At least 3,500 FEMA officials are stationed in Texas and Louisiana.