Tigers snare Slingers star

Tigers snare Slingers star	11.04.2008

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04/11/2008		Megatic ready to leave impression
BOOM West Australian Group I winner Megatic, who runs in the Hobartville Stakes at Rosehill, has taken to the Sydney way of going like a duck to water since arriving at his Randwick base nine days ago

04/11/2008		Angry owner puts blame on Parry
LIVERPOOL chief executive Rick Parry claims Tom Hicks`s bid to have him removed from Anfield is `offensive` to the club

04/11/2008		Cech bounces back from injury
CHELSEA goalkeeper Petr Cech is back in training after his horrific facial injury and waiting for the green light to return to action

04/11/2008		Fenech fight set for Melbourne
JEFF Fenech says his third bout with old rival Azumah Nelson would now take place in Melbourne instead of Pattaya in Thailand

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Hurricane Ike could leave 13 million without power
Expected to be almost as bad as Hurricane Katrina
In pictures: Hurricane Ike approaches Texas

HURRICANE Ike is bearing down on the coast of Texas, driving a wall of water into seaside communities and threatening catastrophic damage all the way up to Houston.

In what may be the worst storm to hit Texas in nearly 50 years, Ike`s centre was within hours of overwhelming low-lying areas near Houston with a possible 20-foot (6-metre) storm surge.

High winds and rain lashed the coast, sending huge waves crashing against a 17-foot (5-metre) sea wall built to protect the port of Galveston after a hurricane in 1900 killed at least 8000 people in the deadliest weather disaster in US history.

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The National Weather Service warned that people in coastal areas could "face the possibility of death" and officials said Ike could flood as many as 100,000 homes and send a storm wave across 100 miles (180 km) of US coastline.

"Our nation is facing what is by any means a potentially catastrophic hurricane," said US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, warning that the storm surge could present the gravest danger.

"This certainly falls in the category of pretty much a worst case scenario," he said.

Crude oil markets nervously watched to see if Ike would swamp low-lying coastal refineries in its path that collectively process 20 percent of U.S. fuel supplies.

Ike`s ferocity surprised many just 11 days after Hurricane Gustav forced 2 million people to flee the Louisiana coast, but largely spared New Orleans.

Some 600,000 people left low lying Texas counties under mandatory evacuation orders, but some who thought they would stick it out made a last-minute exit from Galveston.

"When I woke up, my bed was floating in the house," said David Daubuisson, a handyman who narrowly escaped from his home in Bayou Vista.

"I just took what I could and got out."

Ike was a Category 2 storm with 110 mph (175 kph) winds as it moved on a course to pass directly over Houston - the fourth-largest city in the United States.

The storm is expected to come ashore this afternoon, possibly as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane on the five-step intensity scale with winds of more than 111 mph (178 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.

13 million could be without power

About 13 million people in 132 counties along the Gulf coast could face hurricane and tropical storm conditions, the US National Census Bureau said.

Millions of residents could be left without power, authorities said. A dawn-to-dusk curfew was laid down in evacuated areas around Houston.

The Coast Guard had to rescue 65 people from rising waters on the the Bolivar Peninsula, east of Galveston.

US crude oil futures rose 31 cents to settle at $US101.18 a barrel after dropping below $US100 for the first time since early April as concerns over US economic weakness outweighed storm disruption fears.

Ports were closed and the Coast Guard said a 584-foot (178-metre) freighter with 22 people aboard was stranded without power 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Galveston. Conditions were too treacherous to attempt a rescue.

Huge wave of water

The storm`s wide reach means that it will pack an unusually strong punch, taking the form of a huge wave of water it is pushing ahead of it.

"This is a Category 5 hurricane," said Jeff Masters, co-founder of meteorological Web site The Weather Underground.

"I don`t care what the Category 2 rating says," he said. Category 5 storms are the most dangerous.

The storm surge could push as far inland as NASA`s Johnson Space Center south of Houston, Mr Masters said.

Houston airports were closed and hotels were jammed with those seeking shelter.

Ike could be the third-most damaging storm in US history behind Hurricanes Katrina and Andrew in 1992, experts said.

Risk Management Solutions pegged the value of insured property in the Houston area at nearly $US1 trillion, including the city`s port - the nation`s second busiest.

Katrina devastated New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast in August 2005, killing 1500 people and causing at least $US81 billion in damage.

The costliest storm in US history, Katrina also damaged President George W. Bush`s standing and his administration was heavily criticised for its slow response to the disaster.

- Additional reporting by Anna Driver, Eileen O`Grady, Erwin Seba and Bruce Nichols