HOUSTON (AP) - Texas residents are scrambling to get ready for Hurricane Ike.
Hardware stores have put limits on the number of gas containers that people can buy. Batteries, drinking water and other storm supplies are running low, and grocery stores are getting set to close.
Evacuation orders are in effect for low-lying sections of the Houston area. In Surfside Beach, police have been using a dump truck to try to reach flooded homes and any people who have refused to leave.
But officials say people who live inland shouldn't flock to the roadways because those in coastal communities are still trying to evacuate.
Ike is currently a Category 2 storm with winds up to 105 miles-per-hour. Its eye is forecast to strike near Galveston Friday evening or early Saturday, but the hurricane is large enough that its effects are already being felt.
Water levels have risen by more than five feet along the northwestern Gulf Coast, causing flooding in some places.
