Earth Equity News

Thousands in Texas Flee Ike. By Anahad O'Connor, NYTimes, September 10, 2008. "Thousands of people fled coastal areas of Texas [yesterday] as Hurricane Ike, having spun away from Cuba and roared into the Gulf of Mexico, moved toward the state with growing strength. After pummeling Haiti, Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean, the storm refueled in the gulf and headed toward landfall somewhere from Corpus Christi northeastward to Galveston. It is expected to arrive early Saturday as a Category 4 hurricane... with maximum sustained winds of at least 131 mph... Concerns that the hurricane could damage offshore platforms and infrastructure prompted oil companies to evacuate workers from more than 400 of the 717 manned production platforms in the gulf, the federal Minerals Management Service said. But with large numbers of the platforms strengthened since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck in 2005, there was a sense that many production facilities might emerge unscathed." Check National Hurricane Center and FEMAfor updates.