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)
Thank you, jpsb, and thank God!
arkady_renko
A hack saw would take forever. Best to use a chainsaw. Perhaps one of your neighbors has one.
Well, see that’s what my hubby said...but I was TRYING to prove him wrong... ;0) Oh well..thank you!
An army e-tool works, if you have one handy, and the branch ain’t too frozen.
I blew up an e-tool once, hacking on a frozen tree in the yukon.
It hurt.
Not sure of the thickness of your branch so I will throw out a few ideas. Assume you have electricity:-)
Be careful that the branch does not jump and get ya if you do find a way to cut it up>
Circular saw will cut to about 21/2” deep, if you can get one in there. It don’t have to look pretty, you might be able to go completely around the branch.
A Sawzall, aka, reciprocating saw with a 12” blade might work, just be ready for the shakin.
A hand bow saw will work, if you can find one!
Hope this is helpful
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Sincerely,
Paula Bunyan
I didn’t see that one. The only time I saw him was when he made the comment about the ammo.
Does anyone know if the only way to get in touch with the FEMA Blue Roof people is by the two mobile “right of entry” units?
One is in Webster and the other is at Red Bluff and Specer Highway, both are a hike and a half from my place.
RS
“and the branch ain’t too frozen.”
hahahahhahaha....in houston?? That cracked me up. Of all the problems I’ve had while livin in houston, a frozen tree branch is not one of em!
THank you for your advice... ;0) Maybe it will work since the branch is not frozen...
Watch your fingers and legs.
Watch your fingers and legs.
Watch your fingers and legs.
OOPs. Need to watch my fingers too, I guess.
Thank you...so much...
You’ve got darn good eyes to notice an oil slick (or whatever) here!
What about the number that was posted? Um,,,I am trying to find it if you need it. Here it is 1-888-766-3258-—is that what you need? And the place at Redbluff and Spencer...we can go there and tell them we need a tarp?
Hey, don’t mock frozen branches - at about 60 below, they explode without any help.
At 50 below, whacking one with an e-tool causes the e-tool to explode.
It REALLY hurts, if you are so silly as being the one holding the e-tool.
But...at 50 below, you really don’t care. You might like to build a fire. Never mind that you are on the Yukon, you want ‘em to SEE the fire in Houston.
They call that the Northern Lights. Seen ‘em myself, I have.
If you haven’t already, I would suggest calling FEMA: (800) 621-FEMA (3362) to inquire about locations.
A little hurricane advice needed here...
We don’t own a chainsaw and have a medium side tree (a main branch from it) split and on top of our shed...
Is there an alternative to a chainsaw to cut it down?
The chances of us finding a chainsaw are slim...
~~~
Sounds like a “Widow Maker” to me,,,
“Split” and still attached to the trunk means somebody
will have to climb the tree and cut it off at the top with a
rope attached to direct where it falls,,,
Best leave that to a PRO...
Or, you could just borrow a $20 tree saw. You know, the kind attached to a pole.
Or a Czech.
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