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)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/us/13galveston.html?ref=us
GALVESTON, Tex. — As the storm surge from Hurricane Ike began battering the island of Galveston and officials warned that “certain death” awaited anyone who failed to evacuate, a reckless and stubborn bunch ignored the warnings.
“We never punked out before. Why start now?” said Marie Creasy, the owner of the Poop Deck, a biker bar just stumbling distance from the waterfront. She said her patrons had a proud, defiant and downright stupid tradition to uphold. “We’re not about to break our streak over some Category 2 nonsense.”
Down on the sea wall, Robert Shumake laughed when asked why he had not left the island. Walking with the American flag on a four-foot pole, Mr. Shumake said he had not broken his routine in seven years and, “by golly,” he was not going to deviate now.
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, he said, he has not missed a day of his morning ritual of walking along the shore carrying the flag. “This is nature meets the proud United States of America, and my US of A is going to win,” Mr. Shumake said.
more @ link above.......
Prayers for Balde..and for your peace of mind dear Allegra.
911 emergency phone service is not functioning in Pasadena, Seabrook areas of Harris County.
Balde is prayed for Allegra. You are right about the cave in potential
Port Arthur had storm surge of over 10 feet, with people on the roofs of homes.
http://blogs.chron.com/hurricanes/2008/09/emmett_asks_harris_county_resi.html
Emmett asks Harris County residents to use bottled water as a precaution
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett early this morning asked residents to begin conserving water.
``Use bottled water if at all possible,’’ he said. ``There is no danger that we know of. This is a precaution.’’
Damage is still being assessed.
``We don’t know exactly until people can get out and about and inspect the damage,’’ Emmett said.
For life threatening life emergencies only, dial 911.
Those calls will be handled as soon as responders can get out.
The Houston Fire Department stopped responding to calls at about 4:45 a.m. because of the danger getting to residents.
``Virtually the entire Houston area is without service,’’ Emmett said.
Houston 911 reported 12,050 calls in the last 24 hours.
``That’s about 60 percent higher than normal,’’ Emmett said.
Travel across the Ship Channel toll bridge is still suspended.
``No one should be out driving anyway, ‘’ he said.
The Harris County phone bank at 713-881-3100 is still working. Residents can call this for general information about the storm.
—Terri Langford
On the news last night, they interviewed a bunch of drunk college age kids having a hurrican party at a bar.
I hope that the worst they suffered is a hangover.
I wish I could. I can only call him from my VOIP which does not have texting capabilities.
If someone can text him for me, please FReepmail me for the number and message.
Prayers up for your friend! And God keep you safe too, wherever you are now, Allegra. You are a real treasure for us here on FR.
Seawall Blvd. runs along the top of the seawall. The seawall is seventeen feet above sea level. This would mean a surge of 37 to 42 feet! Doubtful.
A 91 year old man hardly qualifies for a Darwin Award. Think about it.
Forgive me, but that made me laugh.
True, but I also had the thought that the kid would have made a good Spartan. Remember the story of the Spartans at Thermopylae grooming themselves before their last battle and preparing their bodies for death?
BTW the best sources for immediate relief in the next couple of days are, fire departments, churches (gasp ), and neighbors. That's whose running the chainsaws and other things. The police are busy elsewhere. Houston won't have to worry about importing looters as they already have plenty on hand from Katrina. At this point the government is mostly useless.
I’m definitely saying a prayer for him, I love Balde! I really hope he’s safe (and the doggie too). This is so awful! How are Humblegunner, Xenalyte and the rest of your FReeper crew doing? Please take care y’all!!
At some point last night KHOU had a ticker scroll that four people were arrested for burglary in Galveston yesterday.
Bush lifts restrictions on imported fuel due to Ike
20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush announced on Saturday restrictions on imported gasoline had been suspended in response to Hurricane Ike which had forced companies to abandon oil refineries off the coast of Texas.
“Last night we suspended EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) waivers on certain reformulated gasoline, which will make it easier for imports from abroad to make it into our markets,” Bush told reporters outside the White House as the powerful hurricane caused flooding on the Texas coast.
These three info-babes on F&F are an embarrassment.
These three info-babes on F&F are an embarrassment.
“A 91 year old man hardly qualifies for a Darwin Award. Think about it.”
LOL, How true.
Those who hate the idea that faith in anything greater than themselves have had their way for too long. The result is a generation of adults--and young people--who have NO RESPECT for the price that has been paid--and will be paid--for the protection and preservation of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (which does not mean feeling good, but being BLESSED)!
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