Survivors beg for help as Ike ravages Texas

Survivors beg for help as Ike ravages Texas
About 250,000 refused to flee Category 2 hurricane.
NBC News and news services
updated 24 minutes ago
GALVESTON, Texas - Massive Hurricane Ike crashed into densely populated southeast Texas early Saturday, battering the coast with driving rain and ferocious wind gusts as residents who decided too late they should have heeded calls to evacuate made futile calls for rescue.

Though it would be daybreak before the storm's toll was clear, already, the damage was extensive. Thousands of homes had flooded, roads were washed out and several fires burned unabated as crews could not reach them. But the biggest fear was that the nearly 250,000 people who defied orders to flee would need rescue from submerged homes and neighborhoods.

The eye of the storm powered ashore at 3:10 a.m. ET at Galveston with 110 mph winds, a strong Category 2 storm.