ATL: IKE Discussion

[fasterdisaster]

Yeah ABC13 in Houston reported that all media are blocked from the west end of Galveston. So I'm sure that no-fly zone applies to Galveston as well, and that all the no-fly's are media related not ATC.

I'm wondering if the offshore flow on the east bay as the backside came on did in fact send the water to Galveston, and the west end being the unprotected part it wrapped around the island and went into there with more force than if it had gone into the entire island without the seawall (i.e. the energy would be spread out)???

[Deathray]

I'm wondering if the offshore flow on the east bay as the backside came on did in fact send the water to Galveston, and the west end being the unprotected part it wrapped around the island and went into there with more force than if it had gone into the entire island without the seawall (i.e. the energy would be spread out)???

Just to clarify... there is no seawall between Galveston and Galveston Bay correct?

So it surely should have surged from behind as the storm winds pushed the water to the south or southeast into galveston

[fasterdisaster]

On an unrelated note, I really love the music TWC has after every commercial break during the damage montages.

[fasterdisaster]

Damage looks worse than I would have guess at Johnson Space Center, nothing debilitating but still pretty thorough.

[fasterdisaster]

900 people have been rescued so far by the Coast Guard.

[fasterdisaster]

Apparently, water is now safe to drink for jasons.

[pawlee]

Yeah ABC13 in Houston reported that all media are blocked from the west end of Galveston. So I'm sure that no-fly zone applies to Galveston as well, and that all the no-fly's are media related not ATC.

Here's what I don't understand, silencing the media with respect to this HC yet we were not at all barred from viewing the terrible Los Angeles train collision occurring yesterday? We saw at close range, emergency personnel working over a very graphic scene. In other words, when is media ever disallowed to cover a tragic event? They know the rules of engagement with respect to things better left unseen by the general public. I suspect motivations beyond just the realm of "safety" are behind the blackout. IMO the last thing officials want us to see is the end result of poor leadership by telling residents to stay put till the last minute.

God bless the residents of S TX and LA.

[southerngale]

Let's just hope most of the people "that were still on the island" found a way out before the storm, are at a shelter, or are simply staying in there homes. I agree that there was very little in the way of footage from Galveston today, we kept seeing the same parts. I highly doubt that there were many lives lost on Galveston because I don't think there would be a cover-up or anything like that. Another point which has hardly been covered in the media is the extensive storm surge flooding that occured along the Louisiana coast. I strongly feared this as Ike's path crept further up the coast and sure enough, in many areas, the surge is worse than Rita's. The high water record at Sabine pass was over 14', beating the records set by Rita and Audrey by nearly 4'. Devastating storm for a huge area.

We've also heard almost nothing from the Port Arthur/Sabine Pass/Beumont areas. LA govt. has been a little more open, saying that a levee broke and over 100,000 homes were flooded.

There's no electricity in the area, no TV stations to report. Completely dark in the entire Golden Triangle. KFDM has been coming online for streaming video periodically. I have gotten some information that way. None of our local stations have helicopters, so even with the reports we are getting, they couldn't get to the hardest hit areas. Reporters on KFDM streamed some video of damage in certain areas, but commented that they couldn't get to many areas and had to stop often and turn around due to trees and other debris across the roads, or water.

On the previous page, CajunMama posted some pics of Orange... Orange is just east of Beaumont.
http://kogt.smugmug.com/gallery/5953607_Nn2hu#371134406_jLgnE


Finally, a few pics of Beaumont.
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/multimedia/Hurricane_Ike_leaves_path_of_destruction_through_Southeast_Texas.html

[Innotech]

to this day it amazes me that some people refuse to leave. Its not due to misinformation. It cant be due to not knowing better. This stuff has happened before and with Katrina, it was very graphically detailed. People KNOW theres going to be major surge and they know it can potentially destroy their homes, so why do they stay? If it is to protect posessions, well it isnt worth it. You live on the coast knowing full well the dangers and repercussions of doing so. You know that at some point, everything you have is going to be subject to a hurricane. You know that you CANT stop it. So why do people continually decline to evacuate? It makes me angry. Especially when before the cane they are interviewed saying "It wont be bad Ill ride it out" and then afterwards they ALWAYS SAY "I didnt know it was going to be this bad" . The hell you didnt you idiots, the warning signs happen every year in some part of the world. You have the internet and history to look back on. you KNOW in the back of your mind that it will be horrific but you still choose to ignore it. This is darwinism at its finest to me, harsh as that may sound. Choosing to ignore the very ample and vocal warnings is basically committing suicide. I especially cannot stand when it involves children.

[southerngale]

We've also heard almost nothing from the Port Arthur/Sabine Pass/Beumont areas. LA govt. has been a little more open, saying that a levee broke and over 100,000 homes were flooded.

There's no electricity in the area, no TV stations to report. Completely dark in the entire Golden Triangle. KFDM has been coming online for streaming video periodically. I have gotten some information that way. None of our local stations have helicopters, so even with the reports we are getting, they couldn't get to the hardest hit areas. Reporters on KFDM streamed some video of damage in certain areas, but commented that they couldn't get to many areas and had to stop often and turn around due to trees and other debris across the roads, or water.

On the previous page, CajunMama posted some pics of Orange... Orange is just east of Beaumont.
http://kogt.smugmug.com/gallery/5953607_Nn2hu#371134406_jLgnE


Finally, a few pics of Beaumont.
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/multimedia/Hurricane_Ike_leaves_path_of_destruction_through_Southeast_Texas.html

I heard all tv stations up there were knocked off the air, is that true?

Assuming you mean before the electricity went out for everyone, I think so, but not enough to confirm it. Regardless, there's nobody to air to anyway. Nobody in the area has electricity, and I mean that literally.

A quote from the entergy.com homepage:

Hurricane Ike made landfall at Galveston, Texas, early this morning. It has caused outages for 99 percent of the Entergy Texas, Inc. customers, the highest in the company’s history.

That 1% who has power is in Navasota, Tx. - northwest of Houston.

Unreal!

[southerngale]

I found this post elsewhere about Sabine Pass.

A fireman in Port Arthur, when I asked about Sabine Pass (I work in the school) just said, "There is no Sabine Pass."



I know some people who stayed and I hope they made it out. Most of the people there just got their houses rebuilt from Rita. Sigh...

[pawlee]

But the scope is so large. I hope it's not the case, but the longer we don't hear from certain communities, the more afraid I am that this is far worse than many imagine. The fact that Galveston authorities said they will not give any more press conferences really worries me.

People should be worried that leadership would be so disingenuous as to not offer continuous information. Look at how frequently we heard from leadership during Gustav and that storm was much smaller. Find it highly ironic that during Gustav, things were done as they should be to protect citizens so why not for this event? When officials go silent, there's usually a reason but the logic is that as time goes by, people will forget.

Skimming the KHOU forums, it's 2005 all over again, what a damn shame.

[bob rulz]

But the scope is so large. I hope it's not the case, but the longer we don't hear from certain communities, the more afraid I am that this is far worse than many imagine. The fact that Galveston authorities said they will not give any more press conferences really worries me.

People should be worried that leadership would be so disingenuous as to not offer continuous information. Look at how frequently we heard from leadership during Gustav and that storm was much smaller. Find it highly ironic that during Gustav, things were done as they should be to protect citizens so why not for this event? When officials go silent, there's usually a reason but the logic is that as time goes by, people will forget.

Skimming the KHOU forums, it's 2005 all over again, what a damn shame.

Gustav was so very well-handled because Louisiana learned its lesson from Katrina.

On the other hand, Texas has not had any recent major storms to learn from. Rita was damaging but not catastrophic. It was the evacuation that was botched.

Louisiana learned what to do when a hurricane comes.
Texas learned what NOT to do.

[Deathray]

With all these reports of how cities/counties were "sparred"... people are going to be shocked when the damage starts sinking in

[mathwhizz]

I-45 to Galveston Island







Bolivar Peninsula



Crystal Beach





Downtown Houston

[pawlee]

I'm watching Chertoff right now and the news conference. They keep trying to say that this wasn't as bad as it could have been. That makes me think it's bad.

That is such a scripted response. It's like of course it could've been worse but also too, recent history has taught them how it could've went much better.

[mathwhizz]

For comparison, this is an example of what Bolivar/Crystal Beach looked like BEFORE Ike.



AFTER

[hial2]

Thank you everyone. Prior to the storm they did put the generator on the lift and got it to 2nd story balcony, so they are able to use fans and the fridge. They are no longer alone, other people in the area are now staying at their house. My uncle says that the house did wonderful.....parts of the roof missing but the main structure, which was stucco, is intact. As I said previously, the neighbor's son had planned to get them, but they are now saying that they might as well stay, because even if they go to main land they won't have power. They have not walked around but said that from what they could see, it looks like a war zone. They have good friends that had a home about 6 houses down, it it completely gone, fortunately they evacuated.

I certaintly hope they have a way from keeping the carbon monoxide generated AWAY from inside the house..THIS IS POTENTIALLY A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION!!..CARBON MONOXIDE IS A SILENT KILLER..

[fasterdisaster]

GOOD RIDDANCE
000
WTNT34 KNHC 140840
TCPAT4
BULLETIN
TROPICAL DEPRESSION IKE ADVISORY NUMBER 53
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL092008
400 AM CDT SUN SEP 14 2008

...IKE ACCELERATING NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN ARKANSAS...

AT 400 AM CDT...0900Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION IKE WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 36.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 92.5 WEST OR NEAR BULL
SHOALS ARKANSAS. THIS POSITION IS ALSO ABOUT 115 MILES...
185 KM...NORTH OF LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS...AND ABOUT 75 MILES...
120 KM...SOUTHEAST OF SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI.

IKE IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 30 MPH...50 KM/HR. A
GENERAL MOTION TOWARD THE NORTHEAST WITH AN ADDITIONAL INCREASE IN
FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. THIS
MOTION SHOULD BRING THE CENTER OF IKE THROUGH THE MID-MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY TODAY AND INTO THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES STATES BY MONDAY
MORNING.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MPH...55 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. IKE SHOULD LOSE TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS DURING THE NEXT 12
TO 24 HOURS AS IT MERGES WITH A COLD FRONT. THE SYSTEM COULD
STRENGTHEN AS A NON-TROPICAL LOW SUNDAY NIGHT OR MONDAY. WINDS OF
30 TO 35 MPH...50 TO 55 KM/HR...WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 45 MPH...65 TO
70 KM/HR...HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT SEVERAL STATIONS IN EASTERN
ARKANSAS DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS.

THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE BASED ON SURFACE OBSERVATIONS
IS 986 MB...29.12 INCHES.

WATER LEVELS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS AND
SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA COASTS TODAY.

IKE IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5
INCHES FROM MISSOURI INTO ILLINOIS...NORTHERN INDIANA...AND
SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.

ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE TODAY FROM SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI AND
THE TENNESSEE VALLEY NORTHEASTWARD THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY.

REPEATING THE 400 AM CDT POSITION...36.4 N...92.5 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHEAST NEAR 30 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...35 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...986 MB.

THIS IS THE LAST PUBLIC ADVISORY ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER ON THIS SYSTEM. FUTURE ADVISORIES ON IKE WILL BE ISSUED BY
THE HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER IN WASHINGTON DC.

$$
FORECASTER BEVEN



Won't be seeing you in 2014.

[Ad Novoxium]

Won't be seeing you in 2014.

Amen.