国际英语新闻：Texas struggles to provide relief to hurricane victims

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of Texas was struggling to provide relief to its residents who have been badly hit by the Hurricane Ike on Monday, as the storm moved to Canada.

    According to a cnn report, the Hurricane Ike has moved into Canada after it left a trail of destruction from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes.

Damage after the passing of Hurricane Ike is seen in Crystal Beach, Texas, September 14, 2008.

However, the state government was still urging thousands of people to leave some badly-hit area where relief supplies could hardly be delivered to meet victims' need.

    Local reports said that about 2,000 people have been retrieved from flood by helicopters and boats and rescuers were still combing the shattered communities along the coast areas.

    In Galveston, where Ike had its landfall early Saturday, between 15,000 and 20,000 people are still reported staying in deteriorating situation.

A firefighter walks through the debris of houses destroyed by Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas September 14, 2008.

City manager Steve LeBlanc told a Monday press conference that Galveston "cannot safely at this point accommodate its population," urging residents left behind to leave and those who heeded evacuation warnings not to return.

    "We would go in a downward spiral if everybody started coming back," LeBlanc said. "Our resources are stretched to the max."

    In Houston, the fourth largest U.S. city, about 1.5 million residents are living without power and thousands have no clean drinking water, but they have started to receive food and other necessities from government agencies.

A street is covered in debris from Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas September 14, 2008.

The city was still under a dusk-to-dawn curfew due to lack of power and its two main airports just resumed partial operations.

    Texas governor Rick Perry has called on victims to pay more patience for relief supplies and those who were evacuated not to rush back to their homes.

    So far, there have been 27 reported deaths from the U.S. gulf coast to the Great Lake as a result of the Hurricane Ike, in Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Texas. Local authorities said that the death toll is likely to rise as search and rescue efforts are conducted.

    Despite the supply concerns caused by the storm's impact on the U.S. gulf coast oil production, the crude oil market dropped about7 U.S. dollars to a seven-month low of 94.13 dollars a barrel.

    The U.S. Energy Department said on Monday that Ike did not result in major damage to oil refineries along the gulf coast and companies are preparing to restart operations in Texas and Louisiana.

    The White House announced on Sunday that President George W. Bush would visit storm-damaged areas in Texas on Tuesday to show his sympathy to victims.