On Wednesday, Hurricane Ike barreled across the warm, energizing waters of the Gulf of Mexico on its way toward the Texas coast after lashing through Cuba’s tobacco country and demolishing aging Havana buildings.

The Houston Chronicle reports that, “forecasters said the Category 1 storm was already strengthening over open waters after leaving Cuba and could grow into a massive Category 3 storm before slamming into Texas or northern Mexico on Saturday.”

At least 80 people have already been killed by Ike in the Caribbean; meanwhile Texas put 7,500 National Guard members on standby and urged coastal residents to stock up on supplies.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management agency still feels uncertain about the timing of the evacuations along the coast.

According to the Chronicle, “Cuban state television said some 2.6 million people – nearly a fourth of the island’s population – sought refuge from Ike, which killed four people and shredded hundreds of homes as it swept across the country. Power was still spotty in Havana on Wednesday morning.”

Even though Ike was expected to strengthen before making landfall, oil prices dropped below $104 a barrel for the first time since early April, since traders were betting Ike would miss critical Gulf Coast oil installations.

To read the entire article from the Houston Chronicle, link here:

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