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)
That sounds chillingly like the story of the orphans(?) and their caregivers in the Hurricane of 1900 who did the same thing. Their bodies were found still tied together.
Somewhere along the line I heard (I believe) that the Red Cross has set up some kind of “make contact” line.
I’ll see if I can locate that info again. Meanwhile, you could look for their number (probably in the phone book) and give them a call. I’ll post again to you within ten minutes or so.
Gol, NN, you’re good ... glad you’re here!
Good idea! Google earth is an amazing tool. Those islands to the west of Galveston that the grim reports are coming from...are they part of Galveston Island or separate cities?
From the maps that have been posted, they look like the likely spot for the brunt of the storm. All the storm surge trying to move up into the bay and then back out again would have wiped them out!
Not a place to be in a hurricane for sure!
I still have family and friends with vacation property there, been trying to get thru to them all day, talked to one in Beaumont, said everyone is fine, still don't have info on the property tho.
This is so sad...I am looking now for some pics.
Thanks for the info.
Thank you so much. I posted earlier in the day...nothing was known then.
A self-avowed Democrat signed up here last night to offer her sympathy to those in Ike’s path. She even had a sense of humor when I told her that as a community organizer I would never use the experience on my political resume or to raise taxes.
--God bless--
PS - Remember us up in tornado country tomorrow. I'll be out storm spotting in central Illinois if it turns bad.
A_R
You know they looked like crusty types who’ve lived on Crystal Beach for years. They did not have a choice...they’d have died if they’d stayed so try and get out...they made it.
That’s a story they’ll be telling forever!
Glad they’re okay.
Yes, but the good thing is that these people actually made it - this time there were large strong men in the group, which is what may have made the difference.
I think you hit on it. Nothing left to lose at that point, might as well go for broke.
The bet paid off.
yes... thanks
This could make you grrrr a little
bit. The nerve of the ingrates.
Video clips of family who changed their
mind about staying in their home, and came
in on jetskis yesterday with their 2 dogs.
Other rescue footage, including Coast Guard
rescue of man in car, etc.
God bless our emergency rescue and military
heroes in times like this.
Scroll down to the bottom of the article,
and click on this link in red:
“Watch last-minute evacuees explain their
change of heart”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/12/ike.rescues/index.html
I did text her but her cell is probably dead. I would like to find out if the water has receded from her home or if it has risen more. Would any one know that? Would google earth have realtime pictures? I don’t have google earth, I am still on dial-up. If I had dsl I could get so much more info.
People need to understand this. Houston/Galveston were due for this cane. Carla 1961, Alicia 1983 and Ike 2008. I’ve been expecting a hurricane to hit us for the last 3 years. Well, it happened and we’ll turn this around...this time we’ve got lots more assets than we did with the other two. It’s a mess but this too will pass. I’m lucky of the 1.2 million people without power I was one of the 100,000 to have power back in about 12 hours.
Will you be starting a new thread tonight?
Will let this thread run through the night.
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