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)
V=RI. volts = resistance x amperage. Live it, learn it, be it.
First thing I did this morning was go over there and look at the spc analysis. It surprised me that Ike seems to want to go quietly “stage right”... looks like everything is just clearing out in front.
The rest of the country is probably very lucky that the cold front arriving from N.Canada didn’t come a couple days earlier - of course Ike would probably not have come ashore in this spot in that case either - but if we had colder air in place where Ike plowed through it could have been a real impressive clash.
You do realize, don’t you, that people in Louisiana also helped themselves? I’m sure you do.
It's not a camping trip. It is basic infrastructure.
Yes, alas my ghost went to the light. LOL
Hey, texasredtop. Just had to come out of my lurking mode to let you know how thankful I have been for your posts on this thread. My folks, brother, and nephew live in DP. My parents actually live within a mile or so of you (near the corner of San Augustine and Luella). I grew up in DP but married a soldier and only get back to the area occasionally (currently living in Georgia). Anyway, thanks for your updates. I’ve talked to my mom a couple of times since Ike plowed through, and they’re fine. Same as most in the area ... fence and tree limbs down, but that’s about it. My mom did say that she found a baby squirrel out in the yard, so she’s trying to keep it warm and fed. And my brother has a scared dove hanging out in his garage. A couple of little silver linings.
We lived in Galveston a few years ago (hubby did a residency at UTMB), and of course I grew up spending a lot of time at the beach, so our heart is breaking as we watch the updates. Continuing to pray for those in the Bolivar/Crystal Beach areas. So tragic.
from: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6000312.html
CenterPoint, Entergy Texas and the Texas-New Mexico Power Co. — the three firms charged with electricity transmission in Houston and the surrounding areas — all said Saturday evening that most customers were still without power — approaching 5 million people on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Texas-New Mexico Power said its main transmission line into Brazoria County is down and urged those who evacuated to stay away for now.
CenterPoint service crews rolled into neighborhoods to make repairs where they could starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. The company says the Federal Aviation Administration prevented it from deploying a squad of helicopters used to make aerial damage assessments until late in the day. In the first hours after the hurricane, the FAA allowed only medical transport to take flight.
Clamoring for daylight, CenterPoint says it got six helicopters into the air late in the afternoon to take videos and pictures. The biggest question is how severely the transmission system is damaged.
More than just poles and wires, the transmission system is the vast network of metal towers that run along grassy rights of way, bundling massive megawatts and delivering them to neighborhood substations.
Floyd LeBlanc, a spokesman for CenterPoint, said initial reports suggest that up to 30 percent of the company's transmission system was hard hit by the storm. The company will have a better idea about damage today after more aerial assessments.
I’m for informed decisions. Have owners coming back in sign that there will be no sewer or water and that they need to come back prepared to rough it without complaining.
LOL - I compare it to my cabin. There is no sewer, water, or electric serrvice, nor will there be.
I am just fine with that.
What happened to all the water they predicted? We had so very little it was freaky.
I drove by my church - they were meeting in the parking lot for the early service. There is a lot of debris on the roads, and trees down. I know of one house hit by a tree, and saw another with the tree IN the house.
Yes, I know that. Do I look stupid?
We are friends concerned about another friend and I will ask a neighbor of humblegunner's whom I also know personally (eastforker) if he's heard anything.
Houston is my home. I have been through hurricans there. I am very aware of the power situation. I'm damed well concerned about my loved ones there and I don't need anyone acting condescending when I am seeking information from someone who lives near him. Nor do I need anyone's blessing to do so.
It slammed Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula.
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Bolivar Peninsula is just GONE. There’s nothing there but wreckage.
A signed release form is not a bad idea, if there is available manpower to distribute, collect, and file the documents.
I would love to get in contact with husband's and my family. I live in about 40 miles north of Memphis, Tenn. and we have had 50 MPH winds. Trees are cracking like we were in the middle of an ice storm.
Ike is far flung.
Damage to trsnsmission lines is a tad more serious than a few residential service drops laying across the road.
That could take a while to fix.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080914/ap_on_re_us/ike
Orange Mayor Brown Claybar estimated about a third of the city of 19,000 people was flooded, anywhere from six inches to six feet. He said about 375 people who stayed behind during the storm began to emerge, some needing food, water and medical care.
“These people got out with the wet shirts on their back,” said Claybar, who had no idea of how many people were still stranded. Claybar was optimistic that the foot-and-a-half of water over the levee had receded overnight. If so, the city could begin pumping the water out, Claybar said. He didn’t know exactly how long it would take to drain the city.
“I would say at least a couple of days,” Claybar said.
~~~~
Hope you’ve heard some news. Please let us know.
I read a post further up that he was ok but had some barn damage, Don’t know who posted it.
You know Easty is ok. I bet humble is out mudding on that quadrunner ;) You know humble ;)
fingers crossed
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