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)
It has to be a recently built home and one that was build way above code requirements.
Hey RedTop..
Good to see you back on-line... Hope you came out OK.
Here in Louisville, Ky.. IKE hit ME TOO! We’ve been w/o power since yesterday at 1 pm. No telling when we’ll get it back (I’m at work now)... nearly 70% of the city is dark. We have the Ryder Cup golf event supposed to start tomorrow.. and, more than HALF of our hotels still have no power.
We had sustained winds of 40-45 mph, with gust up to 85 mph! ONE THOUSDAND MILES from the coast! HAH!
What a pain...
Bodies = health hazards etc ?
Well it’s sitting there but is it where it’s supposed to be ?
I said I was sorry:’)
It may not be the public they are keeping info from but the media. They have seen what leftist reporters can do with bad situations.
bookmark for roof repair
I hope the city can get the power back soon for you, SCMT!
Looks like the extended storm tracks were wrong! Louisville got WHALLOPED yesterday.
70% of the 1 Million people in this area have now been without power for 24 hours.... officials are saying 10-14 DAYS to get everyone back. They still don’t have all the police stations hooked up.
This... is a mess. But, at least... it’s cool here. So, I’d rather be here than with my sister in Houston.
I would say yes because it is sitting very straight on the lot (the front porch is shifted some though)... it was just well built and built way above code requirements.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/09/15/article-1055660-02A87A8D00000578-263_468x705.jpg
I want to add... that builder’s will be very interested in how this last standing home was built.
I guess I overdid it. :)
The bottom line is that, while there is no general answer to your question, there is a specific one. If know what equipment you want to run, how low a voltage it can stand, how much current it draws (all on the data plate somewhere, or in the user manual) you, or your electrician, can easily determine how big (what diameter/gage) wire you need.
After all the power line feeding your whole house can be though of a big extension cord. If it's an overhead, rather than the now more usual underground, one, then you can go look at how big *those* wires are. I think you'll find they are pretty big.
The trail of damage and destruction from this storm is mind boggling.
All very valid reasons. Also after several Gulf Coast hurricanes there have been wild animals foraging and people can get hurt by them. They are disoriented and hungry.
It has to be very dangerous to go back in there and those there need to get out and let them get their work done to secure it up for insurance adjusters and others to return eventually. The rescue people need a break and having people in the way will just create more problems, more mouths to feed, more water to bring in, etc.
There is no reason for anyone to stay down there. There are no services and probably won’t be for a long time.
"Whereas, the continuing presence of survivors located on Bolivar Peninsula will hamper and impede ongoing rescue efforts;
Whereas, the continuing presence of survivors located on Bolivar Peninsula will contribute to or exacerbate a public health emergency on Bolivar Peninsula; and "
PErry is on now- local press conf- people asking about rumors of deaths in Gilchrist and the Bolivar- he said we’re aware of the 5 deaths reported- then said next of kin will have to be notified first- he heard about 3 more deaths in Galveston this morning...skipped right over Bolivar and Gilchrist.
He...didn’t answer the question.
could it be they’re trying to cover their own butts?
Do know they won’t fix your roof. They only put a nice strong blue trap on your roof damage for free until you can get a contractor in there to repair the roof yourself.
Make sure you take pictures of your roof before a tarp is put on it so that your contractor can give you repair estimates.
The reason I know about Operation Blue Roof is my husband was part of it after Katrina, he was assigned to Mississippi. He works for USACE.
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