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)
http://www.centerpointenergy.com/newsroom/stormcenter/ike/0af9097a7e25c110VgnVCM1000005a1a0d0aRCRD/
TFR = Flight Rules, not sure what the T means.
News aircraft are restricted to being above 2500ft while search & rescue operations are in progress.
So he’s saying not worth it because they can’t fly low enough to see anything.
Saying a prayer for your dear
daughter . . and you. May she
be safe in God’s hedge of protection.
Sorry to hear that. Can you try texting? Sometimes that works when regular calls don’t.
A fair amount of info about Crystal Beach and Port Bolivar above. Early reports indicate the peninsula is mostly submerged. Do you have family or property there?
Thank you.
See my post #1690.
I have been wondering all day why are they sending out so many search/rescue unless there are many unaccounted for?
Aww thanks.
Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda .. horrible
storm. I miss FL sometimes, not this
time of year. Storm scarred.
The Red Cross will help you find out about them. Also the local sheriff’s department will help. Let us know how it turns out.
It will not matter...Zero loses and we win. The uglier they are against Sarah the more Americans are offended. This hurts them much more so than us or Sarah. And thank you...
Nice maps. Thanks.
That's a long walk if you're not in chest-deep water.
Since 10-13-08
Welcome to FR.
Did you try to text her? Texts go through much faster than calls when towers are compromised.
Please take these tornado warnings seriously, folks. Here’s an account from The Town Talk about one that happened earlier today in Mamou, Louisiana.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080913/NEWS01/80913021
No, I have been looking over the tv and some online news trying to find out what is happening in Orange. Just saw where they are going through the neighborhoods in BridgeCity getting people. I am afraid her cell is dead. It is always hard to get info about the smaller towns I guess. I will look at the site you gave me. Thanks
Yesterday afternoon, there was a report of rescue personnel trying to reach several people stranded in San Leon as the waters rose quickly and blocked their evac route.
“Insurance subsidezed by the taxpayers.”
I was thinking more of insurance subsidized by the rest of us who build in more sensible locations that are not in flood plains. There really has to be some minimum set for how much insurance one can get in high risk areas. If people want to build more expensive houses there, then they should have to cover the excess at their own risk.
There were estimates last night that some 20,000 did not leave Galveston and the surrounding islands...so it doesn’t sound good. One good thing though is that the surge was not as bad as predicted.
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