Hurricane Ike Slams into Texas Gulf Coast....

....A fire destroyed a home in Galveston. Hundred-mile-per-hour winds were expected to cross the Texas coast by midnight.
Photo: David J. Phillip/Associated Press....




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By afternoon, Galveston was experiencing flooding of its western and downtown districts. The city was forced to shut down part of its water and sewage system, according to a spokeswoman for the city. A spectator watched 15-foot waves crash on the edge of Seawall Boulevard in Galveston.
Photo: Beatrice de Gea/The New York Times....


....Waves hitting the shoreline ahead of Ike's arrival.
Photo: Dave Einsel/Getty Images....



....Water blowing over a roadway in Surfside Beach. Ike is threatening to obliterate waterfront towns and could be the worst storm to hit Houston in a generation.
Photo: Eric Gay/Associated Press....



....People being helped to evacuate their home by Galveston Beach Patrol and police officers as Hurricane Ike closed in on the Gulf Coast on Friday. The National Weather Service issued a stern warning to residents living in small houses on Galveston Island that they faced "certain death" from flooding if they remained in their homes.
Photo: Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times....