Hurricane Ike is 'Certain Death' and Headed for Texas

The National Weather Service is warning, the Associated Press reports, the Galveston-Houston area that Hurricane Ike could produce a storm surge of 22 feet. They have also issued the warning that to fail to evacuate meant facing "certain death." Reporters on several networks report that they have never heard such strong language used with regard to a hurricane before.

Meanwhile, several hundred miles out in the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Ike gathers force. At present, the hurricane is a Category 2, but is expected to be a Category 3 storm by the time it makes landfall either late evening, September 12, or early morning, September 13. And Hurricane Ike is a monster -- over 700 miles across.

Hurricane Ike has already proved deadly, leaving at least 58 dead in Haiti, according to the New York Times. It is unknown how many the storm may have killed in Cuba as it ran the length of the island, but it was reported that over two million people were moved inland to escapte the storm surge.

In the United States, government officials and storm analysts are preparing for the worst and hoping Hurricane Ike will not repeat some of the more deadly storms in Galveston-Houston area history.

Hurricane Rita came ashore between Sabine Pass, Texas and Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana in 2005, the fourth most intense hurricane ever recorded to make landfall. Galveston County ordered a mandatory evacuation and Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered in the national guard. Up until Hurricane Ike, the evacuation prior to Hurricane Rita's landfall was considered the largest evacuation in American history. (The fact that it occurred just one month afterr Hurricane Katrina may have weighed heavily on the decisions of everyone concerned, from government officials to area residents.) Hurricane Rita made landfall on September 24, 2005, as a Category 3 hurricane but lost most of its power within 24 hours. Still, Rita is considered the ninth costliest hurricane in history, with damages approximating $10 billion. Seven deaths are directly attributed to the storm, but several deaths have been tied to lack of electricity (heat exposure and health-related problems requiring electical maintenance), accidents, and infrastructural-related problems prevalent during the storm's aftermath.

The only hurricane of the 1983 season hit Galveston and Houston directly, the last hurricane to do so before Hurricane Ike, and resulted in 21 deaths. Hurricane Alicia made landfall as a Category 3 storm on August 18, 1983. There would be nearly $3 billion in damages, making Hurricane Alicia Texas' first billion dollar storm.

Back in 1900, a hurricane hit Galveston, nearly destroying the city and killing over 6000 people (the most often cited number is 8000). Making landfall on September 8, estimated windspeeds at the time would have made the Galveston Hurricane a Category 4 storm (135 mph). Lacking early warning systems and many modern aspects of life that provide safety, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is considered the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. In the Galveston area, it is known simply as The Great Storm.

According to Reuters, President Bush declared a federal emergency for the Texas coast Wednesday, September 10, which allows federal disaster relief to be concentrated in the area. Texas governor Rick Perry put over 1300 buses on standby duty to ferry people out of the area, stating that he wanted to see "buses, not body bags."

"We're faced with devastation of a catastrophic range," Randy Smith, the police chief and a waterfront property owner on Surfside Beach, Texas, told the Assocated Press. "I think we're going to see a storm like most of us haven't seen."

The city of Houston is located just slightly northwest of Galveston. It is the fourth largest city in the United States. Although it is estimated that thousands, perhaps millions, have moved further inland toward safety, Hurricane Ike's size alone is problematic. Many have decided to ride the storm out. With landfall only hours away, it is quickly becoming a matter of time, wind, and water as people prepare to face one of nature's most deadly forces and hope that history does not repeat itself.

Sources:

AP.org (Associated Press)
NYTimes.com
Wikipedia.org
Reuters.com