Posted on 09/12/2008 11:29:13 PM PDT by NautiNurse
The eyewall of Hurricane Ike crossed Galveston Island in the early hours of Saturday morning. Reports indicate as many as 20,000 residents of Galveston Island chose not to evacuate as storm surge engulfed the island. The Freeport Chief of Police reported as many as 2000 residents did not evacuate as flood waters swamped coastal communities. There are widespread reports of power outages and coastal flooding throughout the Texas/Louisiana region. The U.S. Coast Guard received hundreds of calls Friday afternoon to rescue people stranded by flood waters along the barrier islands and Galveston Bay communities.
Multiple fires broke out in the Greater Houston area fueled by strong winds. Fire fighting efforts were hampered by flood waters. Brennan's Restaurant, a landmark in Houston, burned to the ground. A 584-foot freighter crippled in the Gulf of Mexico and its crew of 22 survived the storm after The U.S. Coast Guard was forced to abort rescue efforts Friday afternoon due to foul weather
Gulf Coast wholesale gasoline prices jumped to nearly $5 a gallon over fears that water and wind damage could keep the facilities closed for days or longer. Oil companies had shut down 97.5 percent of production in the Gulf of Mexico by Friday morning and were battening down refineries and petrochemical plants in an area that accounts for one-fifth of U.S. refining capacity.
Exxon Mobil reported evacuating workers from its Gulf Coast offshore platforms and onshore facilities in the anticipated path of Ike, shutting down daily production of about 36,000 barrels of oil and 270 million cubic feet of gas..
Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours
Discussion Updated every 6 hours
Buoy data: Western Gulf of Mexico
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar
Corpus Christi Long Range Radar
Brownsville Long Range Radar
Lake Charles Long Range Radar
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Additional Resources:
Navy Tropical Cyclone
Storm Pulse Very cool site
KHOU Houston
ABC 13 News Houston
FOX News Houston
KPLC Lake Charles
KFDM 6 Beaumont/Port Arthur
KKBMT 12 Beaumont
KRIS-TV Corpus Christi
KZTV Corpus Christi
Brazoria County Emergency Management
Galveston County Emergency Management
Chambers Country Emergency Management
Liberty County Emergency Management
| Category | Wind Speed | Barometric Pressure | Storm Surge | Damage Potential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Depression |
< 39 mph < 34 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Tropical Storm |
39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Hurricane 1 (Weak) |
74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts |
28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more |
4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m |
Minimal damage to vegetation |
| Hurricane 2 (Moderate) |
96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts |
28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb |
6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m |
Moderate damage to houses |
| Hurricane 3 (Strong) |
111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts |
27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb |
9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m |
Extensive damage to small buildings |
| Hurricane 4 (Very strong) |
131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts |
27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb |
13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m |
Extreme structural damage |
| Hurricane 5 (Devastating) |
Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts |
Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb |
Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m |
Catastrophic building failures possible |
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Previous Threads:
Hurricane Ike Live Thread III
Hurricane Ike Live Thread II
Hurricane Ike Live Thread I
TS Hanna, Hurricane Ike & TS Josephine [Other than that, the tropics are calm]
Tropical Storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine, TD Gustav (Other than that, the tropics are calm)
After listening to these calls, I have decided if I ever move to another state, it will definately be Texas!
Cantore has been dropping dark hints all day about missing folks at the western end of the island. It looks pretty grim from the reports of survivors coming out.
Still praying for miracles. Texans are a hardy lot and that should give us all hope.
This generator kicks in in seconds after a power loss. If I had purchased this, my neighbors would have all been over because I would have had lights and A/C. I would have had friends I never knew I had...LOL
I think the TX officials are just all saying, we don’t know, and won’t talk about it until we do, more than the press thinking they’ve been fools in the past.
yea that would have been the smart thing to do. I’m sure they regret it.
Could you explain exactly what you mean by this?
Thanks.
I got that same impression from Cantore's tone, and his previous comments about possible destruction in the area, and also thought the numbers were very high if they didn't expect to find a lot of people in need of rescue and/or recovery....
http://www.myfoxhoustonlive.com/ has a live chat going where people are getting and giving info on areas by zip code. Most of the info has to do with damage and power reports.
Perhaps you're thinking of Isabel in 2003. We lost a couple of 100 foot trees during Isabel. One uprooted, leaned on a second tree, and both threatened the house. Fortunately, we were able to take them down safely despite high winds. We're outside Philadelphia, and although we don't feel these storms like those who live on the coasts, we certainly do experience flash flooding, uprooted trees and power outages.
Thank you very much!
“Frankly,I don’t want any of my tax dollars helping anyone to build a home anywhere”
Believe me, I would rather see that. My proposal suggested a position could live with.
I was just commenting on his using “FOG” as an acronym. It’s been used in a similar manner before.
And no, I have no information indicating that it was used in this context this time. For all I know, it was really fog, as in water vapor, that was obstructing the helicopter flights.
You’re welcome. Hope someone can benefit from the link.
Captiva was badly injured in August 2004 when the merciless Hurricane Charley struck North Captiva. The tempest surge cut a path 365 meters wide across the narrowest part of North Captiva, making it two separate islands. The new pass has not been formally named, but the locals call it "Charley Pass".
It’d really surprise me if people stayed on West Beach without a sea wall. Those people leave when a hurricane is coming in. They know they have NO protection whatsoever.
“Every year the property taxes go up. In ten years our assessed value has gone from $130,000 to $350,00”
Isn’t it great how much the mayor cares for you folks?
I’m sorry... Probably is not courteous to get you going again.
Ok .. thanks.
I don’t think Geraldo will be getting much inside information from officials. I was told by coworkers in Iraq who witnessed it that when he visited the IZ chowhall in 2005 he sat down at a full table and everyone else got up and left. No one else sat down with him so he ate his meal alone.
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