Hurricane Ike wreaks devastation on Texas and Louisiana

Rescue crews in the US navigated debris-strewn streets to reach people still stuck in some of the thousands of homes flooded by Hurricane Ike, while authorities in the fourth-largest US city, imposed a curfew and warned residents that it would be weeks before Houston is fully back up and running.

Heavy morning rains hampered early rescue efforts in the hardest-hit areas of the Texas and Louisiana gulf coasts, while those who had evacuated and tried to return to the Houston area today found both interstate highways and sidestreets blocked by flooding and debris.