Avian Flu Diary

Bad Enough

# 2295

To hear some news broadcasters, and some relatively lucky residents along the Texas coast, Hurricane Ike did not live up to expectations.

We did not see a 25 foot surge tide roll across Galveston Island as projected, and while heavily damaged, the destruction in Houston was less than feared.

Another case of the media, and the government, over-hyping the dangers?

No, not at all.

Ike was a strengthening storm as it came ashore, but had never fully recovered from its encounter with Cuba. Had it had another 12 to 24 hours over the warm gulf waters, it likely would have been stronger.

Luckily, Ike jogged at the last minute and came in at Galveston Bay.

Now, a direct hit sounds bad, but as far as coastal flooding and a surge tide is concerned, being 20 to 50 miles to the right of this storm was a much worse place to be.

The damage in places like Orange, Beaumont, and Port Arthur is substantial, and some places - like Crystal Beach - are gone.

Yes, gone.

Scoured clean. Nothing left but the slabs where houses used to sit.

Crystal Beach hit hard
6:15 PM Sat, Sep 13, 2008
The Houston Chronicle is reporting damage in Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula:
TEXAS CITY -- ``There is no more Crystal Beach,'' said 12-year homeowner and former tugboat owner Carl Thompson. ``We flew over it in the helicopter. It's nothing more than pick-up sticks. Our house is gone.''

Below are two aerial views of Crystal Beach

And here is a map of the area. The fifty or so miles to the right of where the storm came in (eastern tip of Galveston Island) took the brunt of Hurricane Ike's wrath.

(Balloon marker showing location of Crystal Beach)

Unfortunately the media, particularly the national media, will focus on how Houston - our fourth largest metropolitan area - dodged a bullet.

People who lived (and particularly those who chose not to evacuate) to the right of landfall, certainly did not dodge a bullet here.

Even those who escaped relatively unscathed - residents of Houston, Sugarland, Conroe, and other surrounding communities - are without electricity. Many neighborhoods are flooded, and thousands of homes and businesses are damaged.

Life in the path of Ike is miserable, and likely to remain that way for some time.

The basic necessities of life - food, potable water, shelter, and medical care - are all going to require full time efforts by the residents in order to obtain them each day.

Life for those in Ike's path has changed abruptly, at least for now.

For the next couple of days, the focus will be on search and rescue. There are, by all reports, people trapped in their homes along the gulf coast. There may also be uncounted fatalities as well.

After that, the recovery phase will begin. And that could take months, or even years.

Three years after Katrina, life is not back to the way it was before in New Orleans.

For millions of Texans there is a long road ahead.

Today, if you are lucky enough not to have been in harm's way with Ike, is a good day to find some way to help the relief efforts. A donation to the American Red Cross, or the Salvation Army would be greatly appreciated, I'm sure.

Both agencies have a long record of being on the scene when disaster strikes.