数十万人逃离了美国德克萨斯州沿海地区，以躲避飓风“艾克”。德州政府发布命令，强制休斯顿市以南地区，包括加尔维斯顿全岛的居民撤离，并已经开始把年老和患病居民疏散到附近城市的临时避难所。
“艾克”飓风目前正以每小时160公里的风速穿越墨西哥湾，强度为二级飓风。位于迈阿密的国家飓风中心的气象预报人员说，“艾克”飓风可能在星期五晚些时候或者星期六上午登陆前升级成为更加强烈的三级飓风。
“艾克”飓风可能掀起比正常情况高出六米的波涛，引发危险的巨浪。
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled coastal areas of the U.S. state of Texas to escape the likely onslaught of Hurricane Ike. Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order for areas south of Houston, including all of Galveston Island, and began transporting ill and elderly residents to temporary shelters in nearby cities.
Ike is currently traveling across the Gulf of Mexico carrying winds of 160 kilometers an hour, making it a Category Two storm. But forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say it could develop into a much stronger Category Three storm before it makes landfall later Friday or early Saturday.
Hurricane Ike could produce a massive storm surge up to six meters above normal, triggering large and dangerous waves.