Breaking news: Ike churns into Galveston, Houston as Category 2 hurricane

Hurricane Ike appears as a large and powerful storm as it churns in the Gulf of Mexico Sept. 11, 2008. One million people on the Texas coastline are believed to have fled as Ike collided with the Texas/Louisiana coastline today. Photo: NOAA via Getty Images, Homepage photo, Sept. 13 - Getty Images.

Galveston, Texas - Hundreds of veterinary practices were in Ike's path as it collided with the Texas/Louisiana coastline at 2 a.m. CST today.

The storm, packing some 110 mph winds and a storm surge of 20 feet, hit Galveston Island, a coastal barrier island just 40 miles from Houston.

According to an Internet search of the area, six veterinary practices were located on the island, and more than 800 listings for veterinarians were found in the surrounding area from Galveston through Houston. Estimates of veterinarians impacted or displaced by the storm were unavailable at presstime.

More than 1 million people were believed to have evacuated the area as Ike twisted through the Gulf of Mexico.

Galveston Island, according to its Web site, was inundated with water eight hours before Ike made landfall.

The storm turned north at 13 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, and is tracking through southeastern and eastern Texas today and into western Arkansas tonight.