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)
Yeah. I'm already hearing that people shouldn't live near the coast or build where we get "Our" oil because it's too expensive to keep repairing. Cheeky , huh?
does Houston still have the huge underground tunnels (connecting buildings) open?
If yes, are they flooded?
I recall how nice they were to get around the city .. esp in hot, rainy etc weather. I never lived in a city prior that had this type of tunnel system & so extensive
If they have them, I am sure that they aren’t open today.:D Houston has flooded areas. The south side of the hurricane is still in the Houston area.
No! What did I miss?
As you said, Ike will add to the rainfall total and Dr. Forbes is warning of long track tornadoes. He commented that Ike was going to be a near nationwide storm event.
Be careful.
a_r
And that's probably the highest point of the island. Just seeing live shots from Galveston. Lots of debrie. Big chunks of wood mostly, but also some more or less intact structures. And some not so intact as well. Flagship Hotel has major major damage. Part of the pier it's on was collapsed, leaving the building itself isolated. Some light and traffic light poles are still standing though, didn't even rip off the traffic lights or signage. But that's the way wind damage is.
Good idea: we’re going to need a whole new Law Enforcement branch of the Viking Kitties to deal with SWI!
http://www.wunderground.com/radar/mixedcomposite.asp?region=c3&size=2x&type=loop
Time to call the dog in
Geraldo was huddled in the top of a palm tree. Upon closer inspection, it was a pygmy palm. About 3 feet tall.
lol.
Love your tag line. Hope the levees held thru the night.
L0L!
I’m in Longview - the rain(sprinkles) and wind is starting.
OH
MY
GOD
I hope someone got a screen capture of that, or it’s on Youtube. Seriesly.
Very sad. The Galveston mayor broke down into tears this morning.
LOL - how typical of him.
http://www.click2houston.com/video/10903347/index.html
That Galveston mayor should be run out of town on a rail!! Just my humble opinion.
Because the Pennsylvania Dutch insisted on two languages!
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