In Wake of Ike Many Have No Power, Drinking Water

As Hurricane Ike made its way through Houston, it has left homes flooded and millions without drinking water and power.  
 
City police declared a nighttime curfew through next weekend, warning of downed power lines, broken traffic signals and water-filled roads. More than 14,000 workers from 33 states will arrive today to help restore nearly all of Entergy Corp.'s 395,000 customers. Restoring power to the region could take a month, said utility CenterPoint Energy Inc. 
 
"All along the area people are without electricity,'' said Peter Teahen, spokesman for the American Red Cross. "Even if your home wasn't damaged, people still need the basic living supplies.'' 
 
Ike, the first hurricane to hit a major U.S. metropolitan area since Katrina in 2005, scattered 2.3 million people in two states before making landfall Sept. 13. The storm weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland yesterday over Missouri and Illinois, prompting flood warnings. 
 
Thirteen deaths were attributed to Ike, including five in Texas, two in Louisiana, two in Kansas, two in Indiana and one in Arkansas, the Associated Press reported. Additionally, a 4- year-old boy died in Houston of carbon monoxide poisoning from the generator his family used for power, AP said. 
 
About 2.2 million Texas homes, mostly in the Galveston-Houston area, were without power, said the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Many pumping stations were also down, leaving residents with no running water. Houston Mayor Bill White asked residents who had access to tap water to boil it, as flooding may have tainted it with bacteria. 
 
"We need to be patient; it can't be done in a day,'' Houston Mayor Bill White said in a televised press conference yesterday. White ordered all city employees to return to work today to help bring the city back online. 
 
President George W. Bush declared the state a major disaster area, offering federal assistance to those living in the 29 counties ravaged by Ike. He will travel to Texas tomorrow. 
 
Many oil refiners along the Gulf of Mexico prepared to reopen their plants after shutting ahead of Ike's approach, reducing the nation's refining capacity by almost a fifth.

Published on September 15, 2008