Emergency teams backed by dozens of helicopters rescued 940 people along the Texas coast by midday, Houston radio reported, as the search widened for those stranded or missing in flattened homes and on swamped roads.

More than three million people remained without power in Texas and Louisiana. Officials warned it could be weeks before electricity was restored, prompting authorities in Houston to announce a 9 pm to 6 am curfew to prevent accidents on roads strewn with fallen trees, power lines and broken windows.

There was still no official death toll from Ike with officials saying the storm was not as severe as initially feared. The Houston Chronicle reported two deaths were caused by the hurricane.

In Galveston, which took the brunt of the storm, about 400 emergency workers -- including volunteers from as far away as San Francisco -- fanned out in dozens of vehicles across the inundated city to search for survivors and clear debris from roadways.

More than 2.2 million people fled inland but more than 100,000 residents of low-lying areas -- including 20,000 in Galveston alone -- decided to ride out the storm despite dire warnings from the national weather service.

Refineries in the important oil-hub were shut down by the storm and could remain closed for up to nine days, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison told CBS television.

The storm's effects meant that "refined gasoline is going to be in a shortage situation because of the power outages and the flooding," she said.

Crude oil prices fell nearly two dollars on Sunday in New York, dipping below 100 dollars to 99.30 dollars, as traders were reassured that refineries and rigs had been spared the worst.

Gasoline prices at pump stations, however, spiked in the southeastern US and officials warned they would punish firms engaged in price-gouging.

The center of Ike made landfall as a Category Two hurricane early Saturday on Galveston Island, unleashing a wall of water and ferocious winds that ripped through the country's fourth-largest city Houston.

The storm's force spread a swathe of destruction across a 500-mile (800-kilometer) span of the coast, causing at least eight billion dollars in onshore damage.

By Sunday, the storm had weakened to a tropical depression as it hovered over the southern state of Arkansas and was heading to Missouri and other central Mississippi valley states.

"Fortunately, the worst-case scenario that was projected in some areas did not occur, particularly in the Houston ship channel," Texas Governor Rick Perry said on Saturday. "But there is plenty of damage out there."

Heavy rain overnight in Houston aggravated flooding caused by Ike and authorities advised evacuees to hold off on returning home while roads were still blocked and traffic lights out.

"We're asking people just to be patient," Federal Emergency Management Agency director David Paulison told CNN on Sunday. "Don't be in a hurry. If you're in a safe place, whether a shelter or hotel or motel, or staying with friends and family, just stay right there."

Houston Mayor Bill White pleaded with local Centerpoint Energy to restore power as soon as possible and said he had told President George W. Bush's top officials that electricity was an urgent priority.

"We have emphasized to them (power company) the fact that everything humanly possible should be done to get our electrical power grid in this area back up as soon as possible," White told a press conference.

With power still out for most Houston households, local radio reported more than 30 cases of carbon dioxide poisoning after people used generators indoors.

Bush said he would travel to Texas on Tuesday and promised food and water deliveries, after meeting Federal Emergency Management Agency director David Paulison in Washington.

Earlier, the president declared a major disaster in Louisiana after issuing the same declaration for Texas, freeing up federal funds for assistance.

earlier related report
Ike caused storm losses of 8 to 18 billion dollars: estimates
Hurricane Ike has caused losses of between eight and 18 billion dollars, according to early estimates from risk assessment companies on Saturday.

Ike hit the Texas Gulf coast in the Galveston-Houston area overnight Friday to Saturday as a Category Two hurricane.

"Initial post-landfall estimated insured onshore losses from Hurricane Ike could range from 8 billion dollars to 18 billion dollars, primarily in the Texas counties of Brazoria, Harris, Galveston, Chambers and Jefferson," the Oakland, California-based company EQECAT said in a statement.

Another company, AIR Worldwide, estimated insured losses to onshore property at between eight and 12 billion dollars, while third company, Flagstone Reinsurance, estimated insured commercial and industrial losses at between 10 and 16 billion dollars.

The estimates are based on mathematical models using storm information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

EQECAT's insured loss estimates include wind damage to buildings, business interruption due to property destruction, "and demand surge, which occurs when the demand for products and services to repair damage significantly exceeds the regional supply.

"These products and services may have to be brought to the region quickly from distant points, resulting in additional costs," the company said.

The estimate does not include losses "related to flooding, private and commercial automobiles and similar vehicles," EQECAT said.

AIR Worldwide said they expected losses of at least 10 billion dollars.

"As expected, Houston's high-rise buildings are reported to have sustained major damage to glazing," said Peter Dailey, the AIR director of atmospheric science.

The company "expects wind damage to be widespread, not only along the coast, but also extending well over 200 miles inland from Galveston," he said.

AIR also estimated the total value of insured properties on Galveston Island at 12 billion dollars, "divided roughly equally between commercial and residential construction," Dailey said. However "much of the flood damage will not be covered by the private insurance industry," he said.

Texas Governor Rick Perry on Friday estimated that Ike could cause losses of up to 100 billion dollars.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is considered the most expensive natural disaster in US history, with a price tag of 68.5 billion dollars.

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