Residents in Galveston Bay in Texas "face certain death" if they don’t leave home before Hurricane Ike comes ashore, the National Weather Service has warned.

CNN reports that the last time forecasters used such forceful language was three years ago as Hurricane Katrina neared New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Ike is expected to strengthen from a Category 2 storm before it makes landfall later Friday or early Saturday, possibly affecting 3.5 million people. The huge storm fills most of the Gulf of Mexico.

But many Texans aren’t evacuating.

Houston homeowners were boarding up windows, clearing away loose furniture and stocking up on drinking water and non-perishable food. Galveston residents and those that live in the lower sections of Houston were ordered to evacuate. But inland residents were told they shouldn’t flee en masse and further clog the roadways that could cause dangerous gridlock.

"It will be, in candor, something that people will be scared of," Houston Mayor Bill White warned. "A number of people in this community have not experienced the magnitude of these winds."

The Coast Guard before dawn Friday received a radio call for help by a 584-foot bulk freighter stranded 90 miles southeast of Galveston. AP reports that the ship, hauling petroleum coke, broke down in the path of the hurricane "in a potentially dangerous situation."

It’s not just the wind and rain that concerned local and national meteorologists, but it’s also Ike’s wide berth and its potential for a 20-foot storm surge, The Houston Chronicle reports.

"A storm of this size is able to bring more wind over a surface of water," said Patrick Blood, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "You can imagine what a 20-foot wall of water can do to a community."

Already at 5:30 AM Friday, wind was strong along Galveston’s Seawall Boulevard. Waves were breaking just above the city’s 17-feet-tall protective seawall, while spray from the waves at other parts of the wall was as high as the top of the traffic signals.

"I want to emphasize what a dangerous storm this is going to be," said Gov. Rick Perry.