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)
Late yesterday afternoon someone on this thread was speaking of a report of 18 people lashed together on the roof of a church who could not be rescued at that time. I wonder if anyone has reported what became of them?
I suspect there are quite a few sleepin’ with da fishes right now...
We have a pretty good read that damage was not as high as it might have been, but my read looking at the feeds is that there is no real good idea of the deaths yet.
dittos
The most interesting thing is that *none* of the interviewees/rescuees that I’ve seen blame anyone other than themselves for staying. No self pity, no people whining about how the government should have saved them. Not much shock either.
Crystal Beach is *gone* per rescuees. One man commented that along with it went his family’s way of life - but he didn’t seem in shock or too phased by it. More of a sad resignation and some determination to pick up and move on.
Gotta love Texas.
***
KHOU/TXCN reporting that the Seawall was unbreached, but it has been damaged with some chunks of concrete missing in places.
There’s also a story circulating that the monument to the 1900 storm, the “despairing man woman and child rising out of the surf” monument is just *gone*.
“(Attacking the govt and agencies is always acceptable)”
Whew! I was getting worried there for a minute.... :0)
The Media Moment must be over...FoxNews & CNN have gone back to covering the election. ;-)
Also in contrast to Katrina, there have been no reported desertions among Galveston or Houston Police. They’re still doing their jobs, which is impressive. Especially in the case of Galveston, where KHOU has reported that many police officers have lost *everything* - but they’re still on the job.
Jim Cantore reported the monument lost some of the granite around it’s base, it’s across the street, but did not even lose a fingernail from the monument itself.
Warning: I’m going to add to your sickness.
All these people being interviewed are giving the impression that they are confident that was not uncommon ... one couple said “we rode our stairway” like a raft after their house destroyed. They saw others swept away. Crystal Beach/ Port Bolivar area. They still haven’t gotten cameras on those spots.
With the number of people reported to have stayed, I haven’t yet gotten over the fear of major casualties. I still hope like crazy that is not the case. Its going to be several days, I think, before we get a good read.
“(Attacking the govt and agencies is always acceptable)”
-— and the media -— John W
Whew! I was getting worried there for a minute.... :0)
-—<>-—<>-—<>-—<>-—<>-—
LOL... I knew we needed an out! and I’m quite embarrassed that I didn’t include the media there, too...
Oh, good. I’d hate to see that go missing. It explains why Texas built the Seawall in the first place - without need for words.
Never again if we can help it. (This does not include those people who were too stupid to leave when they were told to and were given every chance and aid to leave if needed.)
It’s also a good reminder to every emergency planner in Texas as to *why* we plan and the price of getting it wrong.
Yeah! Isn’t it GREAT to hear people blaming themselves for staying instead of someone else! So refreshing.
Of probably 50 interviewed, only one person, an elderly lady, mentioned the government or the mayor or anybody else for their decision to stay!
Two oil rigs have broken loose from their moorings off Louisiana - KHOU/TXCN/AP Wire.
I have my suspicions as to why.
Yep, I think when rescuers get to the flooded areas, the fatality count will rise. One reporter this afternoon said he heard fatality numbers from LE, but didn’t want to repeat the numbers until they were confirmed.
New news: a couple of oil rigs have broken loose in the gulf.
Rigs are US Mineral Management rigs, 100mi off Louisiana.
No kidding, instead of posting pictures of flooded school buses, Texans take responsibility for their actions.
I heard that over and over again, transformer blowing...that's the news for you...making up news...I sent the local station an email letting them know how fast my power was back on...and ask them why aren't they reporting that...
Chances are pretty good that if there was an old disabled school bus left in a marshalling yard somewhere, someone fired up their welder and made a boat out of it to get other people out.
KHOU: Attempted looters being arrested and hauled to jail.
Curfew in place in Houston and most surrounding areas. Estimated 140,000 people decided to not evacuate.
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