Houston - A tense calm reigned Friday as Houston braced for
the arrival of Ike, the first major hurricane in 25 years to bear down
on the fourth-largest US city in full strength.
Hundreds of thousands of people were leaving nearby coastal areas
to flee what the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) warned would be
'certain death.'
Jim Barry, a pizza deliveryman who was born and grew up in the
Texan metropolis, was among the thousands staying stoically calm.
'Leave? Of course not. We're inland, so we reckon it won't hit us.'
The authorities do not agree. In line with the extreme precautions
taken in New Orleans last week, Houston mayor Bill White ordered an
evacuation of 250,000 of the city's four million people.
An indeterminate number of people had already been heading north
on their own initiative since Thursday. The exodus was orderly and
with few traffic jams.
It had little of the chaos seen in 2005, when the hurricane Rita
hit the city two weeks after Katrina brought destruction and panic in
nearby New Orleans.
'When Rita arrived, it was incredible, everyone left, there was
nobody on the streets,' said Danish Baehrn, a receptionist at a hotel
close the city centre.
Highways were clogged almost an entire day, and the memory of those
desperate moments is still raw in Houston.
This time, most people, including Barry, decided to stock up on
water, petrol and food to stay home while the hurricane passed.
Some petrol stations reported fuel shortages, but all companies
called for calm, saying supplies were guaranteed thanks to hundreds of
tankers in neighbouring states ready to leave for Texas if necessary.
Despite the reassurances, Ike represents a very serious threat for
Houston. The NHC expects skyscrapers in the city centre to be whipped
by winds blowing between 100 and 130 kilometres per hour. Some parts
of the city could be inundated by torrential rains.
Texas governor Rick Perry warned of damage to roofs and walls,
falling electricity pylons and trees, and power cuts, asking residents
not to venture outside unless absolutely necessary.
All public and outdoor activities were cancelled or postponed in
the city. All professional sport fixtures were cancelled for the
weekend.
USA
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