By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Hurricane-force gusts of at least 119 kph were lashing Galveston, Texas, as Hurricane Ike approached the coast on Friday.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm hadn't strengthened in the past few hours as it closed in on the Texas Coast, but was on the cusp of major hurricane status as a Category 2 storm with top winds of 177 kph.
Forecasters said the storm's center was about 88 kilometers southeast of Galveston and moving at about 19 kph. The eye was expected to crash ashore early Saturday.
The storm was already sending towering waves to the Texas coast. Meteorologists expected storm surge as high as 6.1 meters near where the eye comes ashore.
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