Texas has begun what is being described as the biggest search and rescue effort in its history following Hurricane Ike.
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The death toll rose to 30 as Ike swept on from Texas into the mid-US, with heavy rain causing flooding.
Millions of people are without power and Houston is under a week-long curfew as work continues to restore services.
By Sunday evening, three out of four households in the fourth-largest US city were still without electricity.
Although many schools remained shut, there were some signs of a return to normality on Monday. The city's two airports resumed a limited service, roads into the city were open and some shops and restaurants were back in business.
'Stay away'
The same could not be said for Galveston Bay, which bore the brunt of Hurricane Ike's arrival early on Saturday.
At least five people were killed and rescuers feared the toll could rise as they continued searching for those who did not leave before the hurricane hit.
Galveston resident Michael Geml, 51, had decided to stay put, looking after family pets in his bay-front neighbourhood, as he had for previous hurricanes.
"I'll never stay again," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. "I don't care what the weatherman says - a Category 1, a Category 2. I thought I was going to die."
The centre of Galveston, which was pummelled by 13ft high waves and 110mph (175km/h) winds, was said to be awash with foul-smelling mud and sewage.
Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas urged residents to stay away. "Do not come back... You cannot live here at this time."
Homeless shelters
Across Texas, more than 50 helicopters, 1,500 federal, state and local search teams were looking for those who had not evacuated the area before the storm came.
As well as carrying out door-to-door searches by boat and high-wheeled trucks, many people were plucked to safety by air. By Sunday afternoon, around 1,984 people had been rescued.
But there are fears that many more thousands are still at risk, with reports that as many as 140,000 people - some 10,000 in Galveston alone - failed to heed the order to evacuate.
Nearly 40,000 evacuees have now been housed in more than 250 shelters across Texas - some with little money and no idea how long they would have to stay.
"I don't know what I'll be coming back to. I have nothing," Arma Eaglin, 52, told the AP as she waited for a bus to take her to a shelter in San Antonio.
Although Hurricane Ike weakened to a tropical depression as it headed beyond Texas, torrential rain led to severe flooding and power outages in parts of Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.
At least two other people were killed in Texas and six in Louisiana. Six people were killed in Indiana, three in Missouri, one in Arkansas, one in Tennessee and three in Ohio.
Ike killed 80 people when it passed through the Caribbean earlier.
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(BBC)
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