The blast ignited a fire on a second ship docked in Galveston Bay that was also loaded with ammonium nitrate.

CNN: What is anhydrous ammonia?

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- The National Weather Service in Houston told residents along Galveston Bay on Thursday night they "face certain death" if they don't leave home before Hurricane Ike roars ashore.

CNN: Last time 'certain death' was warned: Katrina

The weather service painted a vivid picture in its warning of the destruction it expects: a towering wall of water -- possibly up to 22 feet high -- crashing over the Galveston Bay shoreline as the brunt of Ike comes ashore.

CNN: Last time 'certain death' was warned: Katrina

On the distant Kemah bridge, where the lake merged into Galveston Bay, a procession of cars glinted in the sun, and a smallish flock of pink spoonbills meandered in from the opposite shore, heading past the Hilton toward the marshy channels and bayous beyond Bay Area Boulevard.

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