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)
Yep- and while the streaming on my pc is very dark- the TV reporter was pointing out the governor was gesticulating with his hands and arms- attempting to explain something to people..
here’s the mayor..
Good lord....Perry kissing her behind. Looks like the grown-ups are in charge now though..thank god.
Perry- ..substantial and long-term damage done to Galveston Island..
Everyone I know on the coast has a freezerfull of fish, crabmeat, and shrimp...and with no power, you might as well eat it cuz it'll ruin if you don't....
Wow, that’s great that it’s back up that fast! How was the weather?
susie
Most of the people complaining about not having enough food look like they could go on a thirty-day fast without any trouble. It was the same thing after Katrina.
The rest of us are getting tired of carrying these losers on our backs, tax-wise speaking.
That’s why we need to elect McCain/Palin.
Watching press conference.
Wow, Texas, your Gov. is attractive.
He’s also “LEADING”. What a difference a (R) Gov. makes.
That Galveston mayor might as well take her vallium and go back to bed...the grown-ups are there to get the job done....LOL
Perry sounds a tad hostile.
Whatever is going on behind the scenes must be really interesting.
I don’t think I can watch or listen. Too much whining and stupidity gives me a headache, too.
Thank You! We love him and hate him..but one thing he does do well is disasters! Texas is in good hands..we just need to get rid of destructive dems on the local level....LOL
One person without a sewer system is not quite the same thing as a city without one!
susie
My friend near Katy emailed and said they had no flooding, and only lost one shingle. But listening to the wind howl all night was not a fun experience. They’re at her sister’s house now though because she has power.
Of course the media is going to pay attention to the whiners. As long as there’s a Republican in the White House or as Governor every storm is an opportunity to show how badly things went. Even if they didn’t. It’s a sickness.
MSNBC showing the press conference now...they sure don’t want to discuss casualties right now...but confirm at least 3 bodies found.
Door to door grid searches in progress.
There are buses in place to evacuate people where the infrastructure is collapsed.
Perry looking to get federal $$$ for people who want a place to stay besides shelters and can’t afford motels?
Hey..FEMA handing out fuel too...BB later..headed to fill up my cars....LOL /sarcasm
FOOD WATER AND ICE ARE ALREADY THERE!! What is wrong with these people? Complaining about ice, food and water when it is already there??? I guess they want it delivered to their mouthes...(eye roll)
I have a first-hand report from my brother & freeper who left Houston this morning heading North on I-45. He is now 130 miles North of Houston.
He has not had a problem going north, other than a narrowing to one lane in Conroe. The problem that is looming is heavy car traffic headed back to Houston.
1. Heavy car traffic is heading back toward Houston despite water and gas shortages.
2. There are virtually no truck traffic headed toward Houston. He saw about 15 tractor-trailers in 100 of driving.
3. He saw only two power utility trucks heading south.
4. The weather in Houston is miserable. A little rain, heat, and awful humidity with severe Tstorms expected this afternoon. IOW, typical mid-summer Houston w/o AC. 5. Entergy Texas is still reporting 99% of it's customers are without power.
6. He spoke with an Entergy crew in The Woodlands and was told it would be a week before he had power.
7. He had no running water where he lived, which is why he's going to stay with relative north of Dallas.
A massive response is needed and people returning will only make the need greater. Hopefully they are taking gallons and gallons of water with them and have full tanks of gas. It would be impossible to overreact to the need in Houston.
After the word "evacuate" there's little that should follow.
Top Stories Photos Slideshows [this one's obvious] #1 : Top Stories Photos (Hurricane Ike pic) Sep 14 / 331 Photos A family walks back home along a flooded street after Hurricane ... [this one, okay, 9/11 anniversary just passed] #2: 9/11 Terror Attacks Sep 14 / 502 Photos Republican US presidential nominee Sen. John McCain speaks to ... [airline security photos? really? ok...] #3: Airline Security Sep 12 / 9 Photos An America Airlines aircraft lands at Maiquetia's Airport ... [Hurricane whut? Katrina is 3 years ago. wth?] #4: Hurricane Katrina Sep 13 / 298 Photos A couple walks through flood waters in New Orleans, Louisiana ... ["Homeland Security" photos?] #5: Homeland Security Sep 14 / 84 Photos President Bush, fourth from left, speaks from the Roosevelt ... [Iraq: not out of place.] #6: Iraq Sep 14 / 482 PhotosSo we have the top six news photo slideshows, one of which is "Hurricane Katrina." When you click on it, you get current Louisiana Hurricane Ike pics. I leave you to determine for yourselves what they're trying to do over there at yahoo.
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