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)
LOL Maybe some one will come up with a computer game with looters so they can shoot at them from their computers.
I haven’t seen any mention of CH-47s being employed - mostly it is Blackhawks.
Amen to that.
Wow—that story is the stuff of nightmares, right down to the spiders and water creeping up their legs.
Yeah, that’s where I’m watching it. I provided the info for those that may have relocated out of Texas or for those not in Texas that are interested.
Good question, but frankly, this country can’t be running around paying for these gigantic evacuations for major US cities everytime a cat 2 storm approaches. I was under the impression that they ordered mandatory evacs from all flood prone areas, but voluntary for the rest. ???
Like you, I have mixed feelings about it all. If you choose to live in coastal areas though, you have to be ready for certain risks. I don’t like my tax dollars being used to rebuild folks houses that get blown away every 3-5 years.
I know..it sounds cold hearted. Sigh......
I disagree with selfish. People stayed for reasons that were important to them. Most men will not intentionally put their family in harms way. He made a bad decision but fixed things. Sad they left the puppies though.
Good to hear you are safe. Thanks for checking in. Is your electricity restored, or are you using back up generator?
Thanks!
Please keep your ears open if y’all hear anything!
FReepers are the BEST!
Well the engine might be the generator. Just saying as a boat owner that that’s what I’d have done if I wanted to be sure the vessel wouldn’t sink. In a bad storm you can’t trust the batteries to keep a vessel afloat. Now if it was in gear that’d be a bad sign; missing pilot and all.
I heard a report earlier that said they were bringing in several Black Hawks for SAR...I don’t recall from where.
Whether a hurricane, earthquake, fire, blizzard, flood, tornado etc.,I agree. No free re-builds. Give low interest loans and expect repayment. No exemptions.
Not to mention, that 47% probably only resides their 47%. I.E. we don't want to see you... we just want to see your house and your money.
Thanks for the link. Lots of flooding in the video. It looks like the video shows the east side of the island only. From what I can make out, all oceanside video shows seawall, but nothing west, where there is no seawall (IIRC).
I had a previous engagement to attend this afternoon but I came back wondering what was new. Have they managed to survey Galveston Island yet? Bolivar? Were there rescues at the LA/TX border where people were on their roofs this morning?
“it sounds cold hearted. Sigh.”
Not at all. I would love to live right ON the water. (I am about 5 miles from it though) but I am not willing to pay the higher insurance prices. I think if you choose to live close to the water or coast then get insurance and pay for it, don’t expect everyone else to. I have hurricane insurance on my house and yea it costs extra but it’s only fair. Someone living in say Wyoming should not have to pay for hurricane insurance or more taxes to cover the dummies who don’t get it and need it.
There’s a quote from the man who stayed at Surfside Beach last night and survived:
Ray Wilkinson sat with his feet propped on the railing of his front porch Saturday, calmly dragging on a Marlboro Light as reporters asked whether he considered himself brave for being the only person to ride out Hurricane Ike on this spit of sand.
“I consider myself to be stupid,” Wilkinson, 67, spat through a thick, tobacco-stained beard. “I’m just tired of running from these things. If it’s going to get you, it’s going to get you. ...
“I didn’t say I had all my marbles, OK?”
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/
Whoops, looks like KHOU lost its studio feed to TXCN.... and now the tape feed is gone.
KFDN/TXCN reporting little to no flooding in Beaumont.
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