The US National Hurricane Center has said Hurricane Rita has strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 5 storm as it barrels towards the Texas coast.
The US is now bracing for its second devastating storm in less than four weeks, as Rita heads towards some of the most important US oil and refinery facilities in a region still reeling from the damage left by Hurricane Katrina.
After brushing the Florida Keys on Tuesday, Rita has whipped up winds of 165mph as it speeds towards the Gulf of Mexico before being projected to make landfall early Saturday along the central Texas Gulf Coast.
The storm had already shut more than 70% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico where hundreds of workers have been evacuated from offshore production facilities, which account for one third of US oil production and about one fifth of domestic gas output.
