Texans stage evacuation ahead of hurricane

As Hurricane Ike charged into the Gulf of Mexico and toward the Texas coast, officials prepared today to evacuate the first of a million residents who could be in the way of the storm’s path.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Centre predicted Ike, which has already raked the Caribbean and Cuba, would feed on the Gulf’s warm waters and intensify before slamming into the area near the southern Texas city of Corpus Christi early on Saturday morning.