September 16, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 15, 1429

GALVESTON, Sept 15: Millions of people remained without power and water in the US on Monday as deadly Hurricane Ike barrelled up from the Gulf Coast into the Midwest, reportedly leaving more than 15 dead across nine states.

Massive search and recovery operations were ongoing in storm-battered Texas, with nearly 4,000 people rescued across the state.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said it could be “weeks” before residents could return to Galveston, the devastated island city in the eye of the storm’s surge, and they were urged to stay away until the situation improved.

The death toll would also likely rise as the clean-up continued, officials said.

An estimated 20,000 people on the Texas coast ignored evacuation orders and tried to ride out Ike when it made landfall on Saturday, bringing with it a wall of water and ferocious 110mph winds.

The Category Two storm carved a path of destruction from the Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes, with hurricane-force winds hitting Kentucky and flooding reported as far north as Chicago.

In southern Texas and Louisiana alone 2.6 million homes and businesses were left without power, according to the US department of energy.

Rubble-strewn Houston, the fourth most populous US city, has imposed a week-long night curfew because of flooding and the danger of downed power lines.

Simon Chabel of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) told AFP that as of late Sunday 3,743 people had been rescued throughout Texas after Ike blew the roofs off houses, felled trees and flooded roads.

Officials advised residents sheltering outside the region to stay away until conditions improved.

“Galveston has been hit hard. We have no power. We have no gas. We have no communications. We’re not sure when any of that will be up and running,” Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said.

“Do not come back to Galveston,” she said in a plea to her city’s residents. “You cannot live here at this time.”

President George W. Bush said he would travel to Texas on Tuesday to witness the devastation. He also promised food and water deliveries after meeting Fema director David Paulison in Washington.—AFP