Ike Bitch-Slaps the Texas Coast

[The Rover]

Not content with beating up on Haiti, Ike Batters Southeast Texas, and Galveston Is Hit Hard

HOUSTON, Sept. 13 -- Hurricane Ike battered America's fourth-largest city Saturday after roaring ashore as a strong Category 2 storm that shut down the region's oil industry, inundated much of Galveston Island and stranded thousands of people who failed to heed evacuation orders along a densely populated part of the Texas Gulf Coast.

Galveston, took the brunt of Ike's wrath when it made landfall at 2:10 a.m. Central time with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph and drenching rains. But an accompanying storm surge, while damaging, appeared to fall below expectations.

By 1 p.m. Central time, Ike had deteriorated to tropical storm status over eastern Texas, the National Hurricane Center reported. Although its winds were down to about 60 mph, its heavy rains and ability to spawn tornadoes continued to pose threats, the center said.

In Houston, hurricane-force winds blew out windows in high-rise office towers and littered streets with glass shards, tree limbs and other debris. More than 2 million customers in Texas and about 200,000 others in Louisiana lost power, and utility officials said it could take days or weeks to restore electricity. About 2.2 million people live in Houston, the center of a 10-county metropolitan area that has a population of about 5.7 million.

In Washington, President Bush declared a major disaster in Texas for 29 counties and said his administration was moving quickly to send rescue personnel, coordinate relief efforts and shore up energy service and supplies.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said there were "initial reports of a few deaths" in the storm and that authorities may learn of others among people who tried to ride out the hurricane. An estimated 2.2 million Texans fled their homes ahead of the storm, as did about 130,000 Louisiana residents, Chertoff said.

Ike produced major flooding, especially in Galveston, the eastern part of Harris County and Orange County in Texas, as well as Cameron Parish in Louisiana, and there were 16-foot storm surges in "certain isolated inland places," Chertoff said. However, the impact was not as severe as had been feared, he said, although Ike "is still a dangerous storm" whose torrential rains will continue to cause flooding.

"Fortunately, the worst-case scenario . . . that was projected in some areas did not occur, particularly in the Houston Ship Channel," Texas Gov. Rick Perry ® told reporters Saturday afternoon.

Streets in Houston's downtown Saturday were largely impassable, with some intersections flooded and many others blocked by downed trees, power lines and debris. In the southern part of the city, some streets were covered with more than a foot of water, and there were worries that Houston's many bayous and creeks were cresting. The renowned Buffalo Bayou, which meanders through downtown Houston, was beginning to overtop its banks, with some water washing onto adjacent roads.

Downtown, the 75-story J.P. Morgan Chase Tower -- the tallest building in the state at 1,000-feet -- was hit hard by Ike's winds, which shattered most of its windows and left office materials and other debris dangling. Office equipment, furniture, desktop computers, window blinds and files littered the streets below the tower.

The Allen Parkway into downtown was partially flooded in spots where the Buffalo Bayou had overflowed. Freeways around the city were strewn with twisted metal from billboards that had toppled. On surface streets, some utility poles had snapped and were dangling precariously, while at some intersections traffic lights swung in the winds. A towering McDonald's sign over an outlet on Bellfort Avenue was destroyed, with only the golden arches and a small patch of red left standing. Some cars that were abandoned by their drivers sat in water up to their windows.

Reliant Stadium, home to the NFL's Houston Texans, sustained roof damage, and Monday's scheduled game with Baltimore Ravens has been postponed, the Houston Chronicle reported. A landmark restaurant, Brennan's, just south of downtown, was destroyed by a wind-whipped fire that erupted after midnight. Three people sheltering in the building were taken to local hospitals. Two of them, a restaurant worker and his daughter, were in critical condition.

In Galveston, the fate of thousands of residents who refused to evacuate was unknown early Saturday.

Officials said Saturday that they knew of no deaths from the storm, but cautioned that there are vast flooded areas still uninvestigated on the west end of the island. Rescue workers had made it by mid-afternoon only to the 11-mile road on a 32-mile-long island.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8091301956.html

[pickenpieces]

Not content with beating up on Haiti, Ike Batters Southeast Texas, and Galveston Is Hit Hard

Did he ever find Tina after wreaking havoc down there?

Whats love got to do with it? Plenty, IKE was pissed she left him. Didnt find her in the Carribean or on any of the oil platforms so he rampaged Galveston and Houston. I hope it was worth it to him.

He left a good job in the city for this.

[alwizard03]

I feel sorry for the people down there without power . Some 3,000,000 in texas and 140,000 in Louisiana .Heck We still have 60,000 in Louisiana that have no power from Gustav it is really miserable in the South with no power the heat and humidity are terrible.My power has not been right since the storm it goes out for short periods about 3 or 4 times a day. House will proably burn down before it is said and done.

[AMAZONIC]

This is terrible news.

I know there are a few members from TX in the forum, one in particular I know and haven't heard from her yet.

MSG, pls let us know you and your family are OK.

[GoneFishing]

His remnants have just gusted through here knocking down alot of tree limbs and flattening alot of plants, with wind gusts knocked over alot of chairs tables ect.

Ike's Path

[Bitchin Soul]

I hope all of you on the Texas Coast are safe and sound. The storm bypassed us completely. We received a little bit of rain and wind. Nothing at all like the leftovers from the last hurricane (can't remember the name right now). I live in the DFW metroplex close to the airport. Hope and pray electricity is restored soon for all of those people hit by this storm.

[Kat24]

It's absolutely devistating the damage Ike has done. My heart goes out to everyone who's been slammed. And I'm shocked too. I never thought I'd see it hit all the way up in Chicago but, it did just that.

http://blogs.trb.com/chicago-breaking-news...icago-rive.html

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1162537...flood14.article