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’s very dangerous because you have three things going on. You have no lights, you have blinking red lights and you have working lights. It could change at each intersection so those not paying attention will pull up to a green light and stop waiting for the other traffic to cross when they have a red light. You really have to be on your toes driving around out there. I don’t know how you pulled off a U-turn there, when I was over there it was bumper to bumper cars at every intersection. You should check into NASCAR - LOL
And let me NOT slander DP Lumber! They were so kind and helpful to us!! I certainly meant that as a slam against them....and Pasadena Police were the ones I contacted cause we saw a couple of them sitting in parking lots WATCHING the intersections...like that was gonna help.
I also know that directing traffic is a dangerous job...but I am just thinking of some innocent family coming through there doing the “right” thing and some idiot( my driving aside) just barrelling through the intersection and killing that whole family. We shall not criticize those who do u-turns in the middle of the highway ;0)
I certainly DIDN’T mean that as a slam, I should say!
“Not much going to happen in DP...”
Speaking of pending events; as chance would have it, almost every woman I saw today was waddling in an extremely pregnant way. Somethin’ in the water, or what?
I would never think they would be less than helpful and I didn’t take your comments that way. Dean Lawther owns it and his sister, Sissy, runs it when he’s not there. We rarely go in there anymore because we’re Lowe’s addicts. Did you get the name of a roofer?
Not THIS woman - LOL! I didn’t really notice any but I only went into the doc’s office. Come to think about it, I do know a lot of pregnant women right now, that’s weird. No water for me.
hahahahaha,,,I am FAT pregnant and a worker at target said “Well, guess we know what you did during the storm” I looked at him like he just pulled a monkey out of his butt. What could I say? I just shook my head and hoped his shift ended soon. He was obviously very tired, bless his heart. My 8 year old said “mom, what did he mean by that?” I quickly diverted his attention to the candy isle and said he could have whatever he wanted. ;0) Good parenting, that is.
Thanks again for your concern. Water is dropping fast now and everything is cool.
We were actually in there BEFORE I got your e-mail to ask them about it. I got home and read your email, saw that, and said well I’ll go back tomorrow. Too many near death encounters on the highway for me today.
Funny funny stuff. At least he wasn’t about to kill himself because his cell phone couldn’t get out like the cashier at Food Town yesterday.
Oh here’s a funny story:
One of my students (16 year old girl from NY and severely spoiled and never been through a hurricane and anything for that matter) sent me a text message today and it went like this.
student: “Please help me.”
me: “Hey, what’s wrong?”
student: “I am having to eat ASTRONAUT FOOD!”
(I’m guessing she’s referring to MRE’s)
me: “Oh, y’all did not prepare for the hurricane and buy some food ahead of time?”
student: “Ya but u don’t understand, my family is fat and they ate it all already!”
me: “Well, Kroger is open and they have some dry foods”
student: “Eeeew, that is butt food”
(I have no clue what that means)
student: “I want a hamburger”
me: “well, what you got is better than going hungry. Be happy with what you have for now.”
student: :0(
Hehehehhe,,,I guess she thought I was gonna come get her and take her to a fancy restaurant or something. Funny kid.
I found some more information.
I just called my mortgage company and asked about a deferral of this months payment, because I could really use it for repairs.
I know this isn’t for all mortgage companies, but it could be a guideline for your calls.
There is no deferrement, per se.
Option 1) 2 month forebarence clause. You have until the end of month 2 to bring loan current, however you wish to do so.
Option 2) if loan is due 10/1, you don’t become deliquent until 10/30, so is possible to not make payment until then to use funds to get caught up on repairs. I get paid every two weeks, so I could flop what gets paid when and be able to use what was going to be my payment to make repairs and then pay mortgage out of next check.
It’s not a perfect option, but if you have some flexibility and your repairs are going to be less than your insurance deductible, this could be a viable alternative to getting things done.
Hope it helps a little.
RS
Congratulations!
Come to think on it and if you are who I think, I’ve met ‘drew and his dad in Crawford. Great kid, nice guy.
(I was Leapfrog, the guy with the USMC flag - long story.)
Hahahaha...no I’m not married to the freeper DREWSDAD...never even met him. I talked to him on here once though. Actually, I think his wife is DREWSMOM, that’s why I had to go with MUM. Hahahahha...
You know that’s how rumors get started! LOL Don’t go talking to the freeper DREWSDAD tellin him you talked to his pregnant wife....you might freak him out.
My hubby also freeps but he is a lurker.
Glad you and your Houston family and friends are managing through difficult times. I see on your profile that you will be at the Fall Nationals in Dallas this weekend. Are you still going? If so hubby and I will be their and would love to meet you. Is your email address I have from last season still good? Be well.
“Don’t go talking to the freeper DREWSDAD tellin him you talked to his pregnant wife....you might freak him out.”
*Giggles deviously*
Well its after 6 so I guess the power is still out?
Well fortunately for me, we have power back. It is hit and miss in my neighborhood though.
Got home about 1:30ish and immediately fixed the temporary fix for the dog. Chicken wire and a staple gun are my new best friends. Had a bit a of a hole at one end, and I covered it by stapling a downed shingle over it. Woot.
DrewsMum is going to help me with the Blue Roof, and tomorrow is going to be clean up in the yard.
I've talked to insurance people, FEMA people, handymen people, mortgage people. I have a list going in a notebook so that I can keep track of everything.
I can hear the marching band in the school behind me practicing, so I suppose things are slowly returning to normal. Nothing can keep these kids down. They practice constantly, and nothing so insignificant as a storm is going to keep them from practicing.
Thena, Psycho Dog, has not left the bed since we got home, I think she is doing her version of comfort zone.
We are certainly blessed.
RS
FRiends —
I know this is a late reply, but I haven’t been on FR for days — been helping run a shelter for Ike victims instead.
When I posted re: the Galveston mayor, I was not in any way defending her. It’s pretty obvious that she’s done a terrible job.
I was merely replying to a stupid post that goaded her about losing her “tax base” and seemed to imply that she was somehow responsible for the devastation along the coast. Sorry if you misunderstood.
I am glad to hear that life is returning to normal.
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