Bush surveys storm-hit Texas as death toll rises

GALVESTON, Texas (Reuters) - The death toll in the wake of Hurricane Ike rose to 30 in Texas on Tuesday as officials in Galveston warned of a growing health threat on the island city that took a direct hit from the monster storm.

U.S. President George W. Bush surveyed the damage from the air and pledged swift federal aid to the millions of people living around the U.S. energy hub of Houston who are facing the fourth day without electricity or clean water.

"It's a tough situation on the coast," Bush said at a Houston airfield before viewing storm-damaged areas from the air. The federal government will pay for debris removal and other recovery efforts, he said.

Local TV station KTRK said county officials cited 20 deaths in Galveston and Brazoria counties where Ike hit on Saturday. The toll was previously five confirmed dead in Galveston.

In Harris County, which includes greater Houston, the medical examiner confirmed 10 deaths from storm-related causes, including carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor generator use.

U.S. media reported dozens of deaths including many in Ohio as Ike's remnants moved inland.

Across from Galveston, officials said some 250 to 300 people were stranded on the isolated Bolivar Peninsula, a spit of land where Ike wiped out rows of beach homes. There were no confirmed fatalities there.

Months before he leaves office, Bush is trying to rebuild his image as a disaster manager after being widely criticized for a botched relief effort in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That storm killed about 1,500 people in the United States.

It was Bush's third visit in two weeks to view the storm-battered Gulf Coast after he canceled an appearance at the Republican National Convention to view damage wrought by Hurricane Gustav earlier this month.

Ike caused minimal damage to most oil refineries along the Gulf Coast, but a few suffered "a pretty good bit of damage," a U.S. Energy Department official said. Companies are preparing to restart operations at the 14 refineries in Texas and Louisiana that remained shut by the storm, the department said.

But several offshore oil platforms were damaged in a sign that full recovery of the region's oil and natural gas production could be a long way off.

'LOOK AND LEAVE'

On Galveston, officials warned of a health crisis due to lack of clean water and announced a policy to allow residents to come "look and leave" if they wanted to see how their homes fared. They told the estimated 15,000 who rode out the storm to leave.

"We have a blossoming health and medical concern," said Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas. "We are not going to go in somebody's house and drag them off the island. But they need to consider the risks they are taking by staying here."

Some residents seemed determined to stick it out.

"I have no car. I can't get off the island," said Chris Rockaway, 23, cleaning up debris. "I made it through the worst part. I can suffer through this."

Toilets on Galveston had not flushed for four days and a medical officer warned of emerging cases of diarrhea, dehydration and food poisoning.

"I'm on my own," said Robert Perry, sitting in front of his house, his clothes covered in mud. "I had something to eat, but somebody took it. Now I've got to get me some cigarettes."

The town of 60,000 is famous for a legendary 1900 hurricane that killed at least 8,000 in the worst weather disaster in U.S. history.

Houston, a normally bustling center of oil and commerce and America's fourth most-populous city, was still battling to get back on its feet. The mayor pared back an evening curfew as life trickled back into the booming energy mecca.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, said 70 percent of Houston residents could have power by the end of the week.

Though federal aid was being distributed from tractor trailer trucks across Houston, the mayor continued to fume at FEMA for a slow response.

"There are great people working at FEMA doing a good job," said Mayor Bill White. "Let's just say some people may not be appropriate for their responsibilities."

(Additional reporting by Anna Driver in Galveston, Ed Stoddard in Houston, Writing by Chris Baltimore; Editing by Mary Milliken and Cynthia Osterman)