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)
Very good info. Thanks. I was secretly hoping that ethanol was one of those formulations to be canned.
Stay away from La Porte
Citizens are not allowed to return to the city due to power outages, debris, flooding and utility issues. The city will will notify residents when it is clear to return via the city’s web site and the media and the city’s notification system
http://blogs.chron.com/hurricanes/
other stuff from the same blog...
Coast Guard on standby for UTMB
Coast Guard pilots are on standby to evacuate four critical care patients from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
They include one patient deemed too ill to be part of the hospital evacuation Thursday.
The other patients are people who decided not to abide by the mandatory evacuation, said Allison Castle, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry. She did not know those patients’ conditions.
The medical evacuations will begin when winds subside to 45 mph.
UTMB and all of Galveston are under two to four feet of water. Casatle said the Texas Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety are working to clear roads, but that no one should attempt to enter the island.
“Residents can leave but only emergency vehciles are allowed on the island,” said Castle.
No offense taken, lainie, I reside 50 miles west of the OBX on the Albemarle. The only time you see me "wandering" over that way is by sailboat, and my "wandering" season is starting right about now, and will cease early next may. Memorial day to labor day. Not for me.
I had to bail about 3 am. Is Geraldo still in the tree. Have any of those guys been on lately?
Thanks.
I'm not in the storm. Just worried about loved ones who are.
I'll be OK once I've heard from him.
1200 911 calls in the last hour!
Thanks. That’s a good sign.
Wow! Thanks for the update.
So far, talked to my son in Austin, nothing there but a little wind (he’s a little aggravated there has been no rain, his lawn needs it—I told him to count his blessings!)
Also, my son in Dallas says nothing either.
I wish the news would give a little info about other areas of TX as you cannot tell really from the graphics.
I have a friend in Henderson (near Tyler and Longview) and I think they’re gonna get soaked/blown, but maybe not too badly.
susie
Please keep us updated if you are able !
Yikes...my first 666 post!
If the cell sites are down, we’d also lose texting, so not getting him may very well just mean the cell sites are out in his area. Katrina took out a large portion of the cell system for several days. You might want to contact the local Army MARS operation and have them try to reach a Houston ham for you, or try to reach someone who you know has land-phone rather than cell phones.
Chances are cell towers are jam packed with calls.
Just go a text from The Mom and Eaker.....they are fine, they lost power at half past 4 AM or so and their back and side fences are down........no other damages found yet and winds are light now, still raining a little. Their cell and home phones are working still !
Checked in with em a few minutes after the text but made it quick so we didn’t waste their cell phones batteries.
They said to tell all they are fine !
I sent you FReepmail...
Geraldo was in a tree? Sorry I missed that.
susie
Thank you.
http://www.gcoem.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=46
Galveston Island Webcams
Well, ON a tree may be more accurate?
Just tried to call my girlfriend on her cell (She is staying with a friend in the Galleria area). Went straight to her voice mail. Either cell towers are out or she has it turned off to save power. I'm guessing the towers are not working for whatever reason.
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