From correspondents in Americas, 04:31 PM IST

Hurricane Ike made landfall early Saturday lashing the barrier island of Galveston near Houston with winds over over 170 km an hour, and flooding vast tracts of low land.

There were fears for around a third of the 60,000 residents who ignored strict orders to evacuate as the National Hurricane Center reported the storm's eye making landfall just after 0700 GMT.

There were warnings of 'potentially catastrophic' flooding and wind damage on the island, which a century ago saw the deadliest hurricane ever to hit the United States, killing an estimated 8,000 people.

After issuing the sternest of warnings to evacuate, authorities were initially ignoring any calls for rescue until daybreak when, according to Galvestion Mayor Lynda Ann Thomas, 'we don't know what we are going to find. We hope we will find the people who are left here alive and well.'

Up to 100,000 homes in the entire Houston region bracing for the worst were expected to be flooded, and hundreds of buses were on standby to help rescue and evacuation work.

Large portions of Galveston were already flooded earlier Friday. Residents in one or two-storey buildings were ordered to leave or else face 'certain death' from likely eight-metre storm surge flooding.

The strong category-two storm on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale could still strengthen into a category three before the storm's centre reaches land, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.

The storm had sustained winds of 175 km per hour - just short of a category three storm. Winds were as much as 48 km per hour stronger on high buildings, the centre said.

The gravest problem was however the tidal surge created by the hurricane. Owing to its large diameter, meteorologists compared its effects to that of a category 5 hurricane.

Despite several warnings and a mandatory evacuation order issued Thursday, many residents in Galveston decided to stay and weather the storm at home.

Many considered exaggerated the official announcements, thought their homes were strong enough or rejected risking a chaotic evacuation like that of hurricane Rita in 2005. A few also mentioned a wish to live through the storm at its worst.

Galveston is known for its nearly 6-metre-high seawall built to protect historic old homes which survived the lethal storm of 1900.

In 1900, up to 8,000 people died after a huge hurricane hit Galveston, causing the deadliest natural disaster in US history. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina killed about 1,800 people in New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf coast.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)