Too late for some to flee Hurricane Ike

Too late to flee Ike, Texas officials say
Water pushed ashore by the approaching Hurricane Ike has already flooded neighborhoods in Galveston, Texas. In nearby Houston, some 200,000 have fled ahead of the hurricane. Ike's storm surge could reach a deadly 22 feet, forecasters said. The center should make landfall early Saturday.
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More than 120 rescued from Ike's floods
Story Highlights
NEW: Coast Guard helicopters airlift stranded residents from Galveston area
NEW: Many of those rescued were motorists stranded on flooded roads
Coast Guard, Air Force unable to rescue 22 people stranded on freighter
Active-duty military has 42 search-and-rescue helicopters on standby
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Even with Hurricane Ike more than 100 miles away, authorities began rescue efforts Friday, picking up more than 120 people stranded by rising seas along the southeast Texas coast.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescues a person trapped in a car on Friday as Hurricane Ike hits Texas.

Most of the rescues occurred in Galveston County, where rising water and other effects of the storm began hours before expected landfall early Saturday.

Stranded residents have been airlifted from Crystal Beach, Bolivar Peninsula and other communities in the Galveston area. Many of those rescued were motorists stranded on flooded roads.

In Surfside Beach, police waded through chest-high rushing water to rescue five people trapped in their homes. One man refused to leave, said Surfside Beach police Chief Randy Smith. Watch rescuers save a motorist from floods »
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/12/ike.rescues/index.html
also

Kan. Guard members head to Texas for Ike helpThe Associated PressPosted : Friday Sep 12, 2008 16:15:37 EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. — Twenty-one Kansas National Guard soldiers and three helicopters are on their way to Texas to help with the response to Hurricane Ike.
They took off Friday. Their departure had been delayed a day by concerns about the weather and where Ike was headed.
Originally, the soldiers and helicopters, part of two Army National Guard aviation units, had planned to travel to Camp Robinson in Arkansas, outside Little Rock.
But the guard said they’ll travel instead to San Angelo, Texas.
About 600 guard members are in Louisiana, helping with hurricane relief efforts there, but some of them are supposed to come home this weekend.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_kansasguard_091208/