But they also jacked up the existing buildings and pumped a bunch of sand in to raise the elevation of the island, so a bayside surge shouldn't be too bad for that section of the island.
The problem comes with the SW end of the island, after the seawall ends. When I was a kid, we went to west Gavleston and there were just shanties there. Now a bunch of idiots has built million-dollar homes - with no dunes and no significant elevation. The fetch at landfall from Rita will probably blow all the way down Trinity Bay and Galveston Bay and pile up right where the seawall ends - and right through those homes.
And if FEMA gives those idiots one dime to rebuild, I'll scream.
Well, dirt, start screaming because you know what? They will get FEMA money and they are the ones who can also afford the flood insurance fees.