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Paramount Teams Dispatched in Wake of Hurricane Ike |
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Houston, Texas
After the largest search-and-rescue mission in Texas history pulled out some 2,000 people stranded by hurricane Ike's 500-mile-wide storm surge, an equally massive humanitarian relief effort has kicked into gear to bolster a dazed southeast Texas, where gas, food, ice, and patience are all in short supply.
Based on initial reports, hurricane Ike is clearly nothing less than a whopper. Nationally, the storm – which initially paralyzed the financial and energy center of Houston, America's fourth-largest city – could weigh down the already fragile American economy. For sure, it burdens as many as 5 million Texans and Louisianans having to contend with the long, sweaty slog back from what is likely to become the second-most costly storm in US history, with some damage estimates running more than $20 billion.
Television images of the destruction showed that Ike had transformed the Texas Gulf Coast. Paramount teams are now in the area assessing the damage and starting the initial cleanup and repair.
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