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Hurricane's Ghost Town Greets Bush

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The Associated Press

Published: September 17, 2008

GALVESTON, Texas - President Bush got a firsthand look Tuesday at the fury that Hurricane Ike unleashed on the Gulf Coast. He was greeted by a virtual ghost town in Galveston, where Ike made landfall. Bush urged frustrated storm evacuees to keep it that way until local officials say it is safe to return.

"I know a lot of people are anxious to get back in," Bush said. "I urge you to listen to state and local authorities before you come back."

Ike dumped heavy rains on parts of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri after slamming ashore in Texas during the weekend. It knocked out power to more than 2 million homes and businesses across the Midwest, spawned a tornado in Arkansas and blew high winds through Ohio. The devastating rain and wind in the nation's midsection brought the death toll from Ike to at least 47 in 10 states from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley.

In light of the continuing need from Ike and other storms in this year's busy hurricane season, Bush pleaded for donations from the public to relief organizations like the American Red Cross.

IKE DEATH TOLL CLIMBS TO 47

HOUSTON - The death toll from Hurricane Ike has risen to 47. Authorities said Tuesday that six more deaths are being blamed on the storm in the Houston area, bringing the number of people killed in Texas to 17. The remnants of the storm killed dozens more as they moved across the country. Many of the deaths in Texas have happened in the days after the storm because of falling trees or carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improper generator use. Others have come from fires caused by candles in powerless homes.

The Associated Press

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