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Thousands of people have been hunkered down in the fourth-largest US city waiting for one of the biggest storms in American history to pass.

It was feared the enormous hurricane, roughly the size of Texas itself, may turn out to be the worst storm to hit the state in nearly 50 years.

However, the US National Hurricane Centre has now downgraded it to a Category 1 storm.

Ike came ashore at the island city of Galveston as a Category 2, with 110mph winds - just 1mph shy of reaching Category 3 strength.

The storm drove a wall of water 20ft high and sent huge waves crashing against a 17ft sea wall built to protect the city after a hurricane in 1900 killed at least 8,000 people.

Seventeen oil refineries, totalling more than a fifth of US production, were shut down and a pier at Galveston was destroyed.

The National Weather Service warned people in coastal areas could "face the possibility of death" and officials said the vast storm could flood as many as 100,000 homes and send a huge wave across 100 miles of US coastline.

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said: "Our nation is facing what is by any means a potentially catastrophic hurricane."

More than a million Texans heeded evacuation orders and headed inland but officials said they were worried many people had stayed in their homes.

Texas Governor Rick Parry said: "Individuals who think they are toughter, stronger than Mother Nature - God be with them."

A 19-year old Corpus Christi man was missing and presumed drowned after rough seas from Ike swept him from a jetty, local media said.

Speaking at the White House, President Bush said Ike was a "huge storm" and warned that the danger had not yet passed.

He also said the Government would be monitoring fuel prices to "make sure consumers are not being gouged".

Sky News weather presenter Denise Nurse said: "Tornadoes are being spawned out to the east running up towards Louisiana - they have had eight to 10 already, causing significant damage.

"It's a time for those out there to stay indoors if they haven't been evacuated already and wait it out."