Emergency planning officials were meeting all day to decide if and when to announce a mandatory evacuation for coastal counties close to the Mexican border.

With forecasts showing Ike blowing ashore this weekend, authorities lined up nearly 1,000 buses in case they are needed to move out the many poor and elderly people who have no cars.

It would be the first mandatory large-scale evacuation in South Texas history. State and county officials let people decide for themselves whether to leave a hurricane area until just before Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. Now county officials can order people out of harm's way.

Farther up the coast, officials in the county surrounding Corpus Christi planned to begin busing people who have special medical needs inland on Wednesday

Meanwhile, In the wake of Hurricane Ike’s rampage across the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) over the weekend, damage reports are still coming in, but it is clear Grand Turk, South Caicos and Salt Cay were hardest hit.
 
Reports coming in range from severe flooding to extensive damage to buildings and telecommunications, with two unconfirmed deaths on Grand Turk.
 
TCI Premier Michael Misick told the local Caribbean Net News, “There is a lot to deal with, but we are up to the challenge.”
 
Consistent with earlier reports, in his latest assessment, Mr Misick said, Grand Turk in particular was hit hard, with an estimated 85 percent of homes being damaged or completely destroyed.
 
The island is without power and phone service at this time, he said but efforts are being made to get the situation back to normal as soon as possible.
 

“No significant flooding has been reported, but with 135 mph winds, it looks as though a bomb has hit the island.”
 
According to Mr Misick, part of the airport control tower on Grand Turk has been blown away.
 
“We are currently assessing the situation and what needs to be done, and a decision will be made as to what level of outside assistance will be required,” he said.
 
The Premier reported that the Providenciales International Airport had re-opened for emergency flights, and it was hoped that commercial flights would resume Monday.
 
Local businesses told Holidayinsiders.com IKE was the worst natural disaster in living memory.
 
But, many are just thankful they came through a severe and dangerous storm, IKE dropped storm rain, but not the “ton of rain” that Tropical Storm Hanna delivered, most of the damage was as a result of the high winds, which reached 135 miles per hour.
 
Jason Hannigan, Public Relations Officer on HMS Iron Duke, told Holidayinsiders.com that the ship’s helicopter was at that time conducting an aerial survey and its command team had made contact with the local authorities.
 
HMS Iron Duke will be able to deploy first aid and rescue teams ashore, as well as engineering support as requested by the Governor.

In an official Government statement, H.E the Governor Gordon Wetherell indicated that his office is in touch with British and regional response agencies and they are on standby to provide relief and support as soon as the weather conditions permit.
 
South Caicos did not fare any better, with some houses completely flattened and entire roofs blown off.
 
Locally there is great concern for Salt Cay, with all phones being out of service. Salt Cay was the only island without a satellite phone available for emergency use.
 
However, all indications are that Salt Cay was not extensively damaged as was originally feared.
 
Jamaica is sending a six-person delegation to the TCI to assist in damage assessment and, according to Mr Hutchinson, they are expected to arrive early Monday morning.
 
According to information coming in from residents of Grand Turk, there had been massive flooding and the hospital had collapsed.
 
The low-lying areas of Providenciales, such as Long Bay and Turtle Tail, seemed to be underwater from the rising tide, but there were no reports of casualties at press time.
 
Contributing: Caribbean Net News / AP News with www.holidayinsiders.com in UK