THE FOLLOWING PICTURES ARE DAYS BEFORE THE HURRICANE ENTERED THE GULF OF MEXICO.

1 of 48: Residents fish along a dam’s drainage system near Havana, three days after Hurricane Ike hit the island Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. Forecasters said Ike, a category 1 storm, could become a major Category 3 hurricane before slamming into Texas or northern Mexico on Saturday. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

2 of 48: A sign reading in Spanish: “Danger, Beware! blocked street” stands at a flooded street after heavy rains, following Hurricane Ike, fell in Batabano, 50 kms (31 miles) south of Havana, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. Forecasters said Ike, a category 1 storm, could become a major Category 3 hurricane before slamming into Texas or northern Mexico on Saturday. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

3 of 48: A “Take A Hike Ike!” sign is seen in Port Aransas, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. Hurricane Ike is expected to strike the Texas coast early this weekend. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
4 of 48: Marsha Polansky, co-owner of the gift store, Gatherings, in Corpus Christi, Texas, and store employee, Stacy Copeland, get creative with the window tape with the message “We Don’t Like Ike” Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 as the prepare for Hurricane Ike.(AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times,Todd Yates)
5 of 48: Playground equipment on the beach at an Okaloosa Island, Fla. restaurant is slammed into the building by the high surf from Hurricane Ike on Thursday Sept. 11, 2008 (AP Photo/Mari Darr~Welch)
6 of 48: Children sit in their yard strewn with debris from Hurricane Ike, on Great Inagua Island, in the southern Bahamas, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Ike was a category 4 hurricane as it passed over Great Inagua on Sept. 7. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
7 of 48: Houses damaged by Hurricane Ike, on Grand Turk, in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Hurricane Ike was a category 4 hurricane as it roared across the low-lying Turks and Caicos island chain Sept. 7. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
8 of 48: Cubans play in a flooded street after after heavy rains fell following Hurricane Ike in Batabano, 50 kms (31 miles) south of Havana, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
9 of 48: Residents walk under the rain following Hurricane Ike in Herradura, Cuba, Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
10 of 48: A man carries residents through a flooded street after heavy rains fell following Hurricane Ike in Batabano, 50 kms (31 miles) south of Havana, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
11 of 48: This photo released by the U.S. Navy shows a flooded area following Hurricane Ike in Port-au-Prince, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Four tropical storms in less than a month have caused floods throughout Haiti, killing at least 300 people.(AP Photo/U.S. Navy/William S. Parker)
12 of 48: A view of a house thrown from its foundation by Hurricane Ike, on Great Inagua Island, in the southern Bahamas, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Ike was a category 4 hurricane as it passed over Great Inagua on Sept. 7. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
13 of 48: A view of the damage produced by Hurricane Ike in Grand Turk (AP)
14 of 48: A car sits under rubble after Hurricane Ike hit the area in Holguin, Cuba, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike, which raked the Bahamas and worsened floods in Haiti that have killed 321 people, made landfall on Cuba as a Category-3 hurricane, then weakened Monday to Category-2 as it ran along the length of the Caribbean’s largest island. (AP Photo)
15 of 48: Residents ride their bicycles past a blown-over billboard after Hurricane Ike hit the area in Florida, Cuba, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Hurricane Ike roared ashore south of Cuba’s densely populated capital of aging buildings Tuesday after tearing across the island nation, ravaging homes, killing at least four people and forcing 1.2 million to evacuate.(AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
16 of 48: A resident carrying his bicycle wades through flood waters after Hurricane Ike hit the area in Florida, Cuba, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Hurricane Ike roared ashore south of Cuba’s densely populated capital of aging buildings Tuesday after tearing across the island nation, ravaging homes, killing at least four people and forcing 1.2 million to evacuate.(AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
17 of 48: A car drives through the Malecon in Havana while big waves caused by the approach of Hurricane Ike surge nearby Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, causing the evacuation of some 900,000 Cubans from its path, which forecasters said could take it to Louisiana or Texas later this week. (AP Photo/Emilio Herrera, Prensa Latina)
18 of 48: A resident wades through flood waters after Hurricane Ike hit the area in Florida, Cuba, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Hurricane Ike roared ashore south of Cuba’s densely populated capital of aging buildings Tuesday after tearing across the island nation, ravaging homes, killing at least four people and forcing 1.2 million to evacuate.(AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
19 of 48: A man walks along the White Street pier as waves crash in Key West, Fla. Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Hurricane Ike is passing to the south over Cuba. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
20 of 48: Waves crash on the White Street pier in Key West, Fla. Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Hurricane Ike is passing to the south over Cuba. The storm surge from Hurricane Ike is causing minor flooding in Key West. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
21 of 48: Residents make their way through a flooded street after Hurricane Ike hit the area in Camaguey, Cuba, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, causing the evacuation of some 900,000 Cubans from its path, which forecasters said could take it to Louisiana or Texas later this week. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
22 of 48: A man leaves his damaged home after Hurricane Ike hit the area in Camaguey, Cuba, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, causing the evacuation of some 900,000 Cubans from its path, which forecasters said could take it to Louisiana or Texas later this week. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
23 of 48: A boy holding a dog stands at the Malecon as Ike approaches Havana (AP)
24 of 48: Local residents walk past a house destroyed by Hurricane Ike, on the island of Grand Turk, in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike was a category 4 hurricane as it roared across the low-lying Turks and Caicos island chain Sept. 7, where people in this British territory sought refuge in emergency shelters or in their homes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
25 of 48: A sign that reads “Ike: Take a Hike!” is seen Sunday, Sept. 7 2008 in Key Largo, Fla. The hurricane, after crossing Cuba, will come near the Florida Keys. Forecasters are urging coastal dwellers all along the Gulf from Florida to Mexico to be watching as Ike takes an uncertain path. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)
26 of 48: Cars and debris are strewn about a day after the passage of Hurricane Ike, at the shut-down airport, on the island of Grand Turk, in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike was a category 4 hurricane as it roared across the low-lying Turks and Caicos island chain Sept. 7, where people in this British territory sought refuge in emergency shelters or in their homes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
27 of 48: Trains sit at a station affected by heavy rains produced by Hurricane Ike in Camaguey, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, causing the evacuation of some 900,000 Cubans from its path, which forecasters said could take it to Louisiana or Texas later this week. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
28 of 48: A gasoline station is shut down in Key West, Fla. Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Authorities called off evacuation orders for the Florida Keys as Hurricane Ike has shifted south over Cuba and appeared on track to miss the low-lying U.S. island chain. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
29 of 48: Residents protect themselves inside a bus station, temporarily used as shelter, during Hurricane Ike in Camaguey, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Deadly Hurricane Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, evacuating some 900,000 Cubans from its path, which forecasters said could take it to Louisiana or Texas later this week. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
30 of 48: Workers once again install hurricane shutters on a Islamorada, Fla. motel Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 as Hurricane Ike approaches the Florida Keys. Many businessses have closed as the owners wait for the storm. AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)
31 of 48: Pedja Dordevic, left, puts up plywood bearing the names of past hurricanes, including Wilma, Rita, Dennis and Ivan in Key West, Fla. in preparation for Hurricane Ike Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
32 of 48: A man walks through driving wind and rain from Hurricane Ike, on the island of Providenciales, in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Ike roared across the low-lying Turks and Caicos island chain before dawn Sunday as people in the British territory sought refuge in emergency shelters or in their homes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) Fishermen pull a boat out of the water as Hurricane Ike approaches in Havana, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. The U.S. National Hurricane Center projected Ike’s eye would strike Cuba’s northern coast Sunday night and possibly hit Havana, the capital of 2 million people with many vulnerable old buildings, by Monday night. ( AP Photo/Ismael Francisco/Prensa Latina)

33 of 48: Residents wade through a flooded street after heavy rains in Gonaives, Haiti, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Hurricane Ike damaged most of the homes on Grand Turk island as it roared onto the Bahamas, raked Haiti’s flooded cities with rain and threatened the Florida Keys on its way to Cuba as a ferocious Category 4 storm Sunday.(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
34 of 48: This clothing store in Islamorada, Fla., like so many businesses in the Florida Keys, remains closed Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 until Hurricane Ike, currently battering Cuba, passes the area. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)
35 of 48: Two men walk along a flooded street through driving rain and wind from Hurricane Ike, on the island of Providenciales, in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Ike roared across the low-lying Turks and Caicos island chain before dawn Sunday as people in the British territory sought refuge in emergency shelters or in their homes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
36 of 48: Wind-driven water floods a neighborhood during the passage of Hurricane Ike, on the island of Providenciales, in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Ike roared across the low-lying Turks and Caicos island chain before dawn Sunday as people in the British territory sought refuge in emergency shelters or in their homes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
37 of 48: A vehicle sits under rubble during heavy rains produced by Hurricane Ike in Camaguey, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, causing the evacuation of some 900,000 Cubans from its path, which forecasters said could take it to Louisiana or Texas later this week. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
38 of 48: Debris litters a sidewalk during Hurricane Ike, on the island of Providenciales, in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Ike roared across the low-lying Turks and Caicos island chain before dawn Sunday as people in the British territory sought refuge in emergency shelters or in their homes. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
39 of 48: Residents stand on the second floor of a house damage by Hurricane Ike in Cabaret, Haiti, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Five adults and five children drowned overnight in Cabaret north of Port-au-Prince, civil protection director Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste said, raising Haiti’s overall death toll to 262 from four tropical storms in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garcia)
40 of 48: Residents leave the area in the back of a pick-up truck after heavy rains in Gonaives, Haiti, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Hurricane Ike damaged most of the homes on Grand Turk island as it roared onto the Bahamas, raked Haiti’s flooded cities with rain and threatened the Florida Keys on its way to Cuba as a ferocious Category 4 storm Sunday.(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
41 of 48: Women fill sand bags in preparation for Hurricane Ike on the island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
42 of 48: Vehicles drive north through Key Largo in the Florida Keys as an evacuation order is in effect for non-residents in preparation for Hurricane Ike in Miami Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
43 of 48: Tourists stand along the beach as cruisers are seen anchored on the shores of Nassau in Bahamas, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008. Hurricane Ike is due to arrive in the Bahamas late Sunday. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
44 of 48: Plywood on a boarded up hotel reads “Stay Awake Ike” in Key West, Fla. as preparations are under away for Hurricane Ike Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008. There is an evacuation order in effect for non-residents, (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
45 of 48: Suzanne Bonner views the Weather Channel for the latest details on Hurricane Ike in her Palmetto Bay, Fla., home Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008. Bonner, whose home was ravaged during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and damaged in Hurricane Wilma in 2005, says she rises at 5 a.m. each day to watch the Weather Channel’s “Tropical Update” and spends much time perusing meteorological internet portals for the latest forecast details regarding tropical cyclones. (AP Photo/Andy Newman) Tourists and residents pass through Tavernier Key, Fla. via the Overseas Highway, as they evacuate in advance of Hurricane Ike this Saturday morning, September 6, 2008. The Florida Keys announced mandatory non-resident evacuations. (AP Photo/John Watson-Riley)

46 of 48: Juan Coronel from Mexico, left, and Rubenman Rodriguez from Cuba patch up a roof in their trailer park in advance of Hurricane Ike Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008, in Marathon, Fla. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm’s maximum sustained winds slipped a little Saturday morning, to near 110 mph (175 kph), but it was expected to regain force over the coming two days. (AP Photo John Watson-Riley)
47 of 48: Clouds form as the sun sets on the island of Providenciales and Hurricane Ike approaches the Turks and Caicos Islands, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008. Ike is due to arrive in the Turks and Caicos on Sunday. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
48 of 48: This image provided by NASA shows Hurricane Ike, still a Category 4 storm on the morning of Sept. 4, 2008 when this photo was taken from the International Space Station’s vantage point of 220 miles above the Earth. The season’s seventh named storm was churning west-northwestward through the mid-Atlantic Ocean sporting winds of 120 nautical miles per hour with gusts to 145. Ike could hit Florida by the middle of next week. At 1100 p.m. EDT the center of Hurricane Ike was located about 360 miles northeast of Grand Turk Island with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph a Category 3 hurricane. Some strengthening is expected. (AP Photo/NASA)