La Marque, Texas - It was still a half day before the eye of Hurricane Ike was due to make landfall, there was little more than a strong breeze and the sky seemed reluctant to turn from white to grey, but the picture Friday had elements to promote panic.
Many roads and streets in Galveston, Texas, were already under water. And high tide was still hours away.
"Galveston could disappear," said John Dennis.
He was not joking - his jeans, wet to his knees, spoke for themselves.
"I just picked up my wife, and now I have to return to pick up my in-laws," he added. "They don't want to go, but we are going to get them out whatever it takes."