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FOXNews.com – Texas Begins Evacuating as Hurricane Ike Intensifies to Category 2 Storm in Gulf – Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
McALLEN, Texas — Officials prepared Wednesday to evacuate the first of 1 million Texas residents who could be in the way of Hurricane Ike as the Category 2 storm charged into the Gulf of Mexico and toward the U.S. coast.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center predicted Ike, which has already left at least 80 people dead in Cuba and the Caribbean, would feed on the Gulf’s warm waters and intensify before slamming into the area near the southern Texas city of Corpus Christi early Saturday morning.

As of 2 p.m. EDT Wednesday, the storm’s top sustained winds measured 100 mph. It was located 255 miles west of Key West, Fla., and was moving toward the northwest at about 13 mph.

If Texas officials order a mandatory exodus, it would be the first large-scale evacuation in South Texas history. State and county officials used to let people decide for themselves whether to leave a hurricane area until just before Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. Now county officials can order people out of harm’s way.

Click for the latest on Ike at MyFOXHurricane.com | The Weather Undergound | The National Hurricane Center
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The evacuation would affect the impoverished Rio Grande Valley, home to many immigrants who have traditionally been fearful of evacuating out of concern they could be deported if stopped by authorities. Some county officials say they will visit immigrant neighborhoods and forcefully urge people to clear out.

Gov. Rick Perry has already declared 88 coastal counties disaster areas to start the flow of state aid, activated 7,500 National Guard troops and began preparing for an evacuation, lining up “buses rather than body bags.”

Texas emergency officials were taking no chances with the lives of its medically fragile citizens. Residents with special needs in the Corpus Christi area were set to begin leaving by bus for the central Texas city of San Antonio on Wednesday, and the state said it would open up a northbound shoulder on an interstate highway beginning at 9 a.m. for people who wished to begin leaving.

Texas officials were encouraging residents in the path of Hurricane Ike to do three things — listen to what local officials say, monitor weather reports and gas up, now.

Ike has already killed at least 80 people in the Caribbean and ravaged homes in Cuba. As it left Cuba Tuesday, the storm delivered a punishing blow some towns that already suffered a direct hit from Category 4 Hurricane Gustav on Aug. 30.

Federal authorities gave assurances they would not check people’s immigration status at evacuation loading zones or inland checkpoints. But residents were skeptical, and there were worries that many illegal immigrants would refuse to board buses and go to shelters for fear of getting arrested and deported.

“People are nervous,” said the Rev. Michael Seifert, a Roman Catholic priest and immigrant advocate. “The message that was given to me was that it’s going to be a real problem.”

One reason for the skepticism: Back in May, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the Border Patrol would do nothing to impede an evacuation in the event of a hurricane. But when Hurricane Dolly struck the Rio Grande Valley in late July, no mandatory evacuation was ordered, and as a result the Border Patrol kept its checkpoints open. Agents soon caught a van load of illegal immigrants.