Ike remains a threat to Houston and surrounding parts of southeastern Texas and western Louisiana. As Ike moves rapidly, the winds will weaken. Drenching rain will continue today and will cause flooding problems.

Ike officially slammed onshore at Galveston Island at 2:10 a.m. CDT. The storm was a strong Category 2 hurricane at the time of landfall with maximum-sustained winds of 110 mph.

The center of the storm at 10 a.m. CDT was located near Trinity, Texas about 20 miles northeast of Huntsville, Texas. The hurricane warning has been discontinued from Sargent, Texas and has been replaced with a Tropical Storm Warning. Ike is still a heavy rainfall and tornado threat.

The storm at its peak was larger than Hurricane Katrina when it churned through the Gulf of Mexico in 2005.

The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports that southeastern Texas, including Houston and Galveston, are experiencing the full wrath of Hurricane Ike.

A hurricane warning covers the upper Texas and western Louisiana coasts.

The storm surge flooding is up to 15 feet above normal tides. There is a possibility it could reach 20 feet in bays and rivers well inland. Tide gages are still reporting storm surges of 12 feet above normal tide levels along upper Texas and southwestern Louisiana coastal areas.

Ike is moving toward the north. A turn towards the north-northeast is expected later today with an increase in speed tonight. The center of Ike is expected to move through eastern and northeastern Texas today and into Western Arkansas Sunday.

Additional wind gusts include:

• Sabine Pass, La.: 86 mph
• Freeport, Texas: 87 mph
• Port Arthur, Texas: 95 mph
• Lake Charles, La.: 77 mph
• Huntsville, Texas: 58 mph

The strength of the storm and the damage it has caused prevented firefighters from reaching multiple fires burning in Galveston and Houston. A wind gust of 56 mph was reported around 10 a.m. CDT in Lufkin, Texas.

Insurance experts say the value of insured property in the Houston area is nearly $1 trillion. FEMA estimates the damage could top $12 billion.

The storm slammed Louisiana less than two weeks after Hurricane Gustav devastated the state. The storm surges are close to that of Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Local levees have been breached in Terrabone Parish. Temporary water-filled tubes protecting Lafitte, La., have failed. Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner reported six feet of water or more near the town hall. The Franklin Canal levee in Lafitte has breached and nearby nursing home residents have been evacuated.

About 1,800 homes and businesses are flooded in coastal Cameron Parish. Emergency preparedness director Clifton Hebert told the Associated Press the number was likely to rise.

"It's going to be devastating for people," Hebert said. "We don't have the wind that Rita brought, but we have at least the same storm surge, if not a little more."

More than 100 residents are stranded on the barrier island of Grand Isle after a storm surge cut off the only road to the mainland. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told residents they could break into a state wildlife and fisheries lab that was deemed a safe structure, calling it "the most unusual piece of advice I might give."

Power is out along the Gulf Coast. CNN reported that 1.8 million customers of CenterPoint Energy in metropolitan Houston are without power, while the Louisiana Public Service Commission reports that more than 100,000 customers are without electricity, including some customers who lost power during Gustav.

Widespread power outages, wind damage and flooding will spread inland today. The Southwest Regional News story reports that Ike will slowly weaken as it turns to the north and then the northeast.

Ike will move across East Texas today, reaching the mid-Mississippi Valley tonight and the lower Great Lakes on Sunday.

The Midwest Regional News story reports that the remains of Ike will take a path over some areas of the central Plains that for the past two days have been slammed by heavy rain. Tornado and flood watches and warnings are in effect as far north as the western Great Lakes.

CNN reports that three deaths have already been blamed on Ike. A 10-year-old boy died when a tree limb fell onto his head north of Houston. One person drowned off the coast of Corpus Christi, while an elderly person died during evacuations.

In addition to the billions of dollars in damage, Ike will have wide-ranging impacts on the nation's economy. Virtually all of the Gulf oil and natural gas production and refinery operations are shut down, including many rigs and platforms that were still coming back on line following the shut down for Hurricane Gustav.

Texas is home to 26 refineries that account for one-fourth of U.S. refining capacity.

A home burns as waves from Hurricane Ike crash the shoreline on Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 in Galveston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Twenty percent of the total refining capacity in the U.S. is located along the Houston Ship Channel. Many of those refineries will be flooded by the storm surge. Between the flooding and power outages, it could take weeks for the refineries to return to full capacity.

Price gouging has been reported at gas stations across the South, with pump prices as high a $7 a gallon. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has signed an order allowing the Attorney General to enforce the state's anti-gouging law. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster invoked a similar law for his state.

The shut down of the oil industry is having an effect in Canada. Canadian Press reports motorists were outraged and accusations of price gouging flew on Friday as gas prices soared to near-record highs in parts of Canada.

The price at a Petro-Canada station in downtown Toronto reached above $1.36 a liter, or approximately $4.85 per U.S. gallon.

Twenty-two crew members on board a disabled 584-foot freighter spent the night tossing about in the waves because winds were too dangerous for a rescue by Coast Guard helicopters.

According to CNN, Saturday morning the crew survived Hurricane Ike without any means of escaping the storm, the U.S. Coast Guard said, and they are all in good health.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked President Bush for a "wide-reaching emergency declaration," a move designed to secure emergency funding to help defray storm costs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has at least 3,500 officials in Texas and Louisiana. FEMA pre-positioned more than 230 generators, 5.6 million liters of water and 5.5 million prepackaged meals ready for distribution.