Houston Told To "Hunker Down" For Big Ike

Facing Massive Category 3 Hurricane, City Officials Seek To Avoid Mass Evacuation Crush

(CBS/AP)  Cars and trucks streamed inland and chemical companies buttoned up their plants Thursday as a gigantic Hurricane Ike took aim at the heart of the U.S. refining industry and threatened to send a wall of water crashing toward Houston.

Nearly 1 million people along the Texas coast were ordered to evacuate ahead of the storm, which was expected to strike late Friday or early Saturday. But in a calculated risk aimed at avoiding total gridlock, authorities told most people in the nation's fourth-largest city to just hunker down.

Ike was steering almost directly for Galveston and, beyond that, Houston, where gleaming skyscrapers, the nation's biggest refinery and NASA's Johnson Space Center lie in areas vulnerable to wind and floodwaters. Forecasters said the storm was likely to come ashore as a Category 3, with winds up to 130 mph.

But the storm was so big, it could inflict a punishing blow even in those areas that do not get a direct hit. Hurricane force winds spread out 200 miles from the eye, reports The Early Show weather anchor Dave Price.

Forecasters also warned that because of Ike's size and the state's shallow coastal waters, it could produce a surge, or wall of water, 20 feet high, and waves of perhaps 50 feet. It could also dump 10 inches or more of rain.

"It's a big storm," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said. "I cannot overemphasize the danger that is facing us. It's going to do some substantial damage. It's going to knock out power. It's going to cause massive flooding."

Hurricane warnings were in effect over a 400-mile stretch of coastline from south of Corpus Christi to Morgan City, La. Tropical storm warnings extended south almost to the Mexican border and east to the Mississippi-Alabama line, including New Orleans.

Most of the evacuations were limited to sections of Harris County outside Houston, as well as nearby bayous and Galveston Bay. But the 2 million residents of the city itself and 1 million in other areas of the county were asked to remain at home.

"We are still saying: Please shelter in place, or to use the Texas expression, hunker down," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the county's chief administrator. "For the vast majority of people who live in our area, stay where you are. The winds will blow and they'll howl and we'll get a lot of rain, but if you lose power and need to leave, you can do that later."

Authorities hoped to avoid the panic of three years ago, when evacuations ordered in advance of Hurricane Rita sent millions scurrying in fright and caused a monumental traffic jam so big that cars ran out of gas or overheated. Ultimately, the evacuation proved deadlier than the storm itself. A total of 110 people died during the exodus, including 23 nursing home patients whose bus burst into flames while stuck in traffic.

This time, traffic was bumper-to-bumper on the freeway leading away from Galveston immediately after the evacuation order, but by late afternoon, many evacuees had made it past Houston, to the north. And just in time: Waves were already inundating the beach on one end of Galveston Island.

Some gas stations began running out of fuel, but fuel trucks were called in to replenish them.

Houston Mayor Bill White said one of the lessons of Rita mess was that too many people fled who didn't need to. Instead, he asked residents to protect their homes.

"Think how your barbecue could become a flying object," he said.

But other authorities are concerned that memories of the frantic and gridlocked Hurricane Rita evacuation will lead some to stay put, reports Price.

"There's a lot of people who will choose to ride it out," County Judge James Yarborough told CBS News. We don't think that's a wise choice."

At 11 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 340 miles southeast of Galveston, moving to the west-northwest at 12 mph. Top sustained winds were 100 mph.

NASA closed the Johnson Space Center, including Mission Control, and set up temporary quarters Thursday near Austin and Huntsville, Ala., to watch over the international space station until the storm threat passes. Most NASA aircraft at Ellington Field, just north of Johnson, have been flown to a facility in El Paso.

Concerns that Ike could cripple offshore rigs prompted oil companies to shut down more than 75 percent of their operations in the region, reports Price.

The upper Texas coast accounts for one-fifth of U.S. refining capacity.

Wholesale gasoline prices spiked 30 percent Thursday, or nearly $1 a gallon, out of fear of what Ike might do. That means motorists can expect higher prices at the pump, though how much higher depends largely on how long refineries are shuttered after the storm.

Exxon Mobil Corp., Valero Energy Corp., ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Co. began halting operations as Ike closed in. Dow Chemical Co. started closing up its enormous Freeport complex, home to 75 plants producing some 27 billion pounds of chemical products each year.

BASF, the world's largest chemical company with 14 manufacturing sites in the Gulf Coast region, also began shutting down some operations. Spokesman Daniel Pepitone said each site has a hurricane plan that outlines detailed steps for securing plants, and precautions such as tying down hoses and taking down scaffolding began days ago.

Industry officials said their refineries and chemical plants are designed to withstand high winds. But power outages could still knock them out of service.

Ike would be the first major hurricane to hit a U.S. metropolitan area since Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago. For Houston, it would be the first major hurricane since Alicia in August 1983 came ashore on Galveston Island, killing 21 people and causing $2 billion in damage.

Ike is huge, taking up nearly 40 percent of the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center said tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph extended across more than 510 miles, and hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph stretched for 220 miles. A typical storm has tropical storm-force winds stretching only 300 miles.

Because of its great size, storm surge and gigantic waves are the biggest risk, said Hugh Willoughby, former director of the federal government's hurricane research division. The larger the storm, the longer it hits and the higher waves can build.

And because the water is so shallow along the Texas coast, the waves pile up, creating a big storm surge, he said.

"We're not talking about gently rising water," Harris County's Emmett said. "We're talking about a surge that will come into your homes."

Authorities put the frail and elderly on buses headed for shelters. And thousands of Texas prison inmates were also moved out of the storm's path.

Officials worried that after Labor Day's Hurricane Gustav proved to be a dud in Texas, people wouldn't take the warnings seriously.

"The most important message I can send is do not take this storm lightly," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. "Do not look back at Gustav and say, `Well, that turned out to be not as bad as some people feared, therefore, I'm going to gamble with this storm."'

Some stayed put anyway.

Johnny Tyson, 33, his girlfriend, Martha Jones, 38, and her three children planned to ignore the order to leave. Tyson, loading into his truck plywood he bought at a Home Depot in Beaumont, complained that officials waited too long to call for an evacuation.

"We left for Gustav and we didn't have to leave," Jones said. "They cut all the roads and bottleneck everybody into one road and make traffic worse." He added: "Everybody and their momma is trying to leave right now."

[sly_64]

The hurricanes stir things up a bit, it''s nice for a change. Makes things interesting.

[donbar7777]

If adults choose to stay , thats one thing, but the children dont have a choice, and thats not fair to put their lives in danger because the adults are so foolish.

[tpraskac]

What a time for terrorists to strike. Ike,few months of Bush,economy Keep an eye out

[BillyBump70]

To Enviromentalists:
We need refineries that are NOT in the path of storms like this one. Refinery shutdown means supply goes down and prices go up. You "Greenies" are the main cause of the so-called "Price-gouging." You are killing America with your pseudo-scientific, loony ideas. I hope all the CO2 become depleted so your green plants will die. What a bunch of morons!

[oneworldusa]

I see Exxon didn''t sponsor this article because it mentions price gouging at the pumps. Crude went down to around 100 today, 45% off its high, and in America retail fuel goes up 30% when it''s only down 10-15% due to the crude drop to begin with. So, why do all Americans have to pay $1 more suddenly because of a what a hurricane MIGHT do. They don''t give us the money back when the hurricane doesn''t do any damage, now, do they?

This is price fixing and gouging plain and simple.

[beehive21-2009]

Stay,fear not,goin be pure excitement,enjoy,then bend over and kiss your donkey ,goodbye

[tbweb]

It`s never a bad idea to error on the side of caution! Texans should take this threat very serious and evacuate!

[smurfcrusher]

"Frankly, Galveston should be forced at gunpoint to abandon the city. Our worst natural disaster occurred there in 1900, at the hands of another hurricane, which killed 9000 to 12000.

If it hits, anyone in the city will be killed."

Posted by ubrew12

Agreed. That storm smashed the entire town into matchsticks.

This is where watching Discovery can potentially save lives.

After all, a certain president Bush junior said about Katrina, "nobody could have foreseen this."

Apparently he didn''t watch the two hour special a couple years previously. (he was probably herding his imaginary cattle, instead).

[blackyowe]

I would not live in such a place. I will take the blizzards up here thank you very much!

[cjauregui10]

The sun was devoid of sunspots leading up to the 1900 Galveston disaster. Here we are again 108 years later. Goggle: "Solar cycle 23" to get the latest on sun spot activity.

[barbaraf4]

I don''t understand why some people are being told to stay and "hunker down". That sounds like careless disregard for safety to me. There is no way to know what this monster will do. Everyone needs to get out right now.

[ubrew12]

Frankly, Galveston should be forced at gunpoint to abandon the city. Our worst natural disaster occurred there in 1900, at the hands of another hurricane, which killed 9000 to 12000.

If it hits, anyone in the city will be killed.

[erasmus81]

Posted by LloydBest1 at 08:36 PM : Sep 11, 2008

You always do a spectacular job of keeping us updated!

[barbaraf4]

"I just don''t think I am going to do anything yet since the exact track of this storm could change at any time. At this point and time it still shows that this thing will come straight through my county and may still be a tropical storm when it gets here." Posted by fabrat1
~~~~~~~~~~~
It never hurts to have a survival plan. If you don''t use it this time you will have it next time.

[emelder]

Good luck, Texas ... batten down the hatches ... our prayers are with y''all.

[blackyowe]

My Brother is right down in Spring, TX near Houston. I am a nervous wreck tonight!

[yankeerebel7]

With the unprecedented amount of good will Texas has shown Louisiana in the years following Katrina....TX deserves nothing but the best.

[txgrouch2006]

I have always wondered what a MOAB exploded in the eye of a hurricane would do.....or the opposite.....if a line of them was exploded horizontally throughout the whole storm....
Posted by cwazywabt at 09:22 PM : Sep 11, 2008

Probably it would make the storm wobble kinda funny like for about 5 minutes. Then it would be back to the same as if nothing happened.

It''s pure fantasy to imagine that ANY human activity could nullify a large-scale weather system that is distributed over MILLIONS OF SQUARE MILES.

[lloydbest1]

"...This at an estimated 16 - 18 hours away from landfall just a few miles down the coast...." Posted by LloydBest1 at 08:36 PM : Sep 11, 2008

Hey, I messed up! Landfall is NOT 16 - 18 hours. The weather wonks think sometime between 10 PM Friday and 2 AM Saturday morning. That''s 28 - 32 hours...Sorry.

[iphyt4u]

Texans know this hurricane is the work of Muslim extremist.