Hurricane Ike slammed the Texas and Louisiana coast on Saturday with ferocious winds and a wall of water that flooded hundreds of miles, cut power to millions and caused billions of dollars in damage.
But relieved officials and residents said Ike may not have caused the catastrophe they had feared in the densely populated region.
The storm, which idled about a quarter of U.S. crude oil production and fuel refining capacity, swamped the island city of Galveston and paralyzed Houston, the country's fourth-largest city, shattering skyscraper windows and showering streets with debris.
There were unconfirmed reports of "a few deaths" from Ike, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. He cited "significant surges" -- high seas pushed ashore by hurricanes -- and damage in Texas and Louisiana.
Ike came ashore at Galveston as a strong Category 2 storm early on Saturday with heavy rains and sustained winds of 110 mph the National Hurricane Centre said.
It had weakened to a tropical storm by mid-afternoon as it barrelled northward on a path expected to bring heavy rains across a swath of the country stretching to Canada.
Hurricane Ike struck at the heart of the U.S. oil industry around Houston�- triggering the biggest disruption to nationwide energy supplies in at least three years and sending gasoline prices spiking higher at the pumps.
Oil companies scrambled to assess damage to refineries and offshore platforms in the storm's wake, while the White House said it would clamp down on gasoline price gouging, ease environmental fuel regulations, and consider releasing emergency stockpiles to ease the impact on drivers.
About a quarter of the nation's energy production remained idled in the storm's wake, the largest disruption to U.S. energy supplies since hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed offshore oil platforms and flooded refineries in 2005.
The severe hit to production triggered a spike in U.S. average gasoline prices on Saturday of more than 5 cents to $3.73 a gallon, according to the AAA's daily survey of more than 100,000 service stations.
"I think American consumers need to brace themselves for the possible return of $4 a gallon gasoline over the next few weeks," said AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom.
(Associated Press / Yahoo News)
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