South Texas Coast Under Evacuation Order

HOUSTON' rel="nofollow">http://afp.google.com/...RCLIPjSS7Rx7DN5XGugStOmA"]HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) — President George W. Bush declared an emergency in Texas and state authorities began ordering evacuations as deadly Hurricane Ike, which strengthened Wednesday to a powerful Category Two storm, churned in the Gulf of Mexico toward the US state.

The declaration frees up federal aid to boost local efforts as the state girds for the expected landfall later this week of Ike, which is forecast to pick up even greater speed before it slams into the Texas coast.

A mandatory evacuation order was to go into effect in the coastal area immediately south of Galveston, Texas, early Wednesday, Brazoria County officials said.

Ike has now swirled into the Gulf of Mexico, home to the bulk of US oil refineries, and was headed toward the southern Texas coastline where it could strike land early Saturday, the National Hurricane Center forecast.

The city of Houston, some 50 miles from Galveston, prepared to place emergency personnel on standby to deal with fallout from Ike's imminent arrival.

"We're making sure fuel tanks are topped off and that high water rescue boats are ready," said city spokesman Frank Michel.

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell said it would complete evacuation of personnel from its offshore installations by Wednesday.

At 1800 GMT, the center of the storm was 255 miles (410 kilometers) west of Key West Florida moving toward the northwest at about eight miles (13 kilometers) per hour.

Texas Governor Rick Perry on Monday declared a disaster threat in 88 counties on and near Texas' Gulf coast, which helps free up resources and eases the way for federal government assistance.

Evacuations were starting to lurch into gear Wednesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said in a statement. "Federal assets will support these evacuations to ensure that everyone can get to safety," the statement stressed.

In Texas' Brazoria County, authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation for the 77541 postal code early Wednesday. The rest of the county was for the moment under voluntary evacuation instructions, they said.