Hurricane Ike closing in on Texas coast, Houston

By Tim Gaynor

GALVESTON, Texas (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people fled coastal areas in the path of Hurricane Ike on Friday as the storm gathered strength on a collision course with the Texas Gulf Coast, threatening to swamp populous areas around Houston under a massive wave of water.

Ike was a Category 2 storm with 165-kph winds and likely will come ashore late on Friday or early on Saturday as a potentially dangerous Category 3 storm on the five-step intensity scale with winds of more than 178 kph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm menaced Houston, the fourth-most populous U.S. city and hub of the oil industry. Many remembered the chaotic highway evacuation of 2 million residents during Hurricane Rita in 2005, which ended up sparing the city.

Although the city could see hurricane-force winds, officials called for most residents to "shelter in place." "They are in a safer, better position if they stay where they are," Houston Mayor Bill White said.

Because of Ike's wide scope -- it is larger geographically than Hurricane Katrina was in 2005 -- it could bring a storm surge of up to 7.6 metres, normally associated with larger storms.

The National Weather Service warned in a bulletin early on Friday of deadly flooding in some Gulf coastal communities during the period of peak storm tide.

"Persons not heeding evacuation orders in single-family one- or two-story homes may face certain death. Many residences of average construction directly on the coast will be destroyed," it said.

Ike was expected to produce heavy rains of up to 38 cm in some areas, the hurricane center said in its 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) Friday advisory.