Texas Boards Up as Ike Nears

Oil tankers are scrambling to get into the ports of Galveston and Texas City before officials close them in anticipation of Hurricane Ike, set to hit land by Saturday, the Galveston County Daily News reports. The storm is gathering strength and could be a fearsome Category 4 when it lands somewhere between Houston and Corpus Christi, a region with the nation's largest concentration of oil refineries and chemical plants, the AP notes.

Meanwhile, Galveston's mayor declared a state of emergency and called for the voluntary evacuation of more than 10,000 residents from low-lying areas of the island, the Houston Chronicle reports. A city official warned that those hoping to ride out the storm could be stranded by expected tides of 8 feet combined with 3-5 inches of rain this weekend. (More Hurricane Ike stories.)