Galveston In The Aftermath Of Ike

An Island Beset By Catastrophic Storms In The Past Has Survived Again

(CBS)  Though it wasn't the "storm of the century," Hurricane Ike was quite a blast, pounding a large stretch of the Gulf Coast with powerful winds, heavy rain, and surging seas. Now thousands and thousands of people in its path are struggling with the aftermath. Our Cover Story is reported by Martha Teichner.

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Never mind that Ike ended up a Category 2 hurricane, not the cataclysmic killer that was predicted. In Galveston, it was bad.

Not even two days ago, what are now piles of debris were people's homes, their belongings - smashed by winds up to 110 mph, dumped by a storm surge 13-15 feet high.

Ike is a stern reminder that storms happen, in spite of all the 21st century weather technology, in spite of all the dire warnings to evacuate.

The National Weather Service didn’t mince words: Of Galveston they said, "Persons not heeding evacuation orders in single-family one- or two-story homes will face certain death."

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was also admonishing: "Our nation is facing what is, by any measure, a potentially catastrophic hurricane. It's not a time again to play chicken with the storm or to take risks with the storm."

But people did just that, even though a good twelve hours before Ike actually hit much of Galveston Island was already flooded. Of the city's population of 57,000, by some estimates 40% stayed.

On Friday afternoon, knowing full well what was coming, thrill seekers stood on the 17-foot sea wall as waves crashed over the monument to the Great Storm of 1900 which Galveston had no idea was headed its way.

"Clearly it ranks, at least in terms of death toll, as the number one most lethal hurricane in history," said Erik Larsson, author of the 1999 bestseller "Isaac's Storm." "In fact, [it's] the single most lethal natural disaster in U.S. history."

The Category Four hurricane killed at least 6,000 people, possibly as many as 12,000. There were 150-mile-an-hour winds and a 16-foot storm surge.

In "Isaac's Storm," Larsson recounted the true story of how Isaac Cline, head of the local weather bureau, failed to predict it, and the tragic consequences when it made landfall.

A cascade of errors, of unexpected things, came together so that this monumental storm arrived essentially by surprise.

The before-and-after pictures are startling: Galveston had been rich and cocky, sure it was about to become the New York of the South. The hurricane ended its grand ambitions forever.

In an interview marking the 100th anniversary of the storm, Larsson said, "If there are poor choices for where to put a city, Galveston Island probably ranks close to number 1."

Since 1900, eight more significant hurricanes have battered Galveston, in 1915 and again in 1943. There was Carla in 1961, Fern in 1971, Alicia in 1983, Rita in 2005, and Humberto last year.

And now Ike (ironically, a nickname for Isaac).

(Left: Debris surrounds damaged aircraft and hangars at Scholes Field on Galveston Island after the passing of Hurricane Ike, Sept. 13, 2008.

Isaac Cline became obsessed with improving hurricane forecasting so the horror of 1900 would never be repeated.

As soon as Ike's winds died down yesterday, the Coast Guard began picking up people by the hundreds who chose to stay in Galveston and push their luck in spite of ample warning.

Galveston residents Codie and Katy also rode out the storm. They felt pretty lucky, even though they "lost everything."

… Everything except their lives. That's the difference between Isaac's storm and Ike.

[squeakster21]

Just for some information that the general masses aren''t looking at: the mayor of Galveston came on the day we left our home and said that it was too late to call mandatory evacuation. With that said, in Galveston, there was only a mandatory evac for the west end, not the entire island. She told everyone in Galveston proper that the best thing to do was to "shelter in place."

We left on instinct. We had spent 19 hours in the Rita evac a few years ago, and didn''t want to do that again. We split in the wee hours thursday morning.

As to everyone who thinks they are "smart" by building their houses out of "harm''s way" think again. On the east coast and gulf coasts, you have huricanes, in the central states you have tornadoes, in the mountains and up north you have the blizzards, the deserts have monsoon season, and the west coast has earth quakes and mudslides. So there really isn''t an area in the US that''s really safe from nature. (let alone the rest of the world)

So it doesn''t matter where you live. If it''s going to happen you just need to be prepare to help your fellow man or woman. Why complain? it''s not going to solve anyone''s problem, and may even create more problems down the road. Especially when you are the one to need the help next time.

[kgb007bain]

There are people from these disaster areas reading this blog and all of the terrible responses being posted...If you don''t have anything nice to say about them, don''t say anything at all. I certainly hope that those of you still bashing the people of the gulf coast areas never have to face a natural disaster that takes away your home, personal belongings or the lives of your family members. The people that stayed instead of evacuating know they made a mistake...We don''t have to keep reminding them. And like others have posted, those who are rescuers know they possibly face death themselves when trying to help those in need. Anyone that thinks that there should be a price on being saved needs to calculate how much their life is worth before puttig a price on another''s life. For those who think that the Gulf Coast residents are "fools"...don''t go to their beaches! I certainly appreciate each and every one of these people! I love having a place to sleep, restaurants to eat at, stores to shop in and meeting all of the wonderful locals when I go to a beach! So to all you "fools"...Thank you so much for making my beach experiences absolutely amazing!

[saintnash]

I''ve tried for fifteen years to convince my parents to
move to a safer place. Every summer they evacuate about three times to Dallas and usually return to Galveston
with everything intact. This storm was about five years overdue and this time there''s not much point in my parents hurrying back to the island. Their home which five years ago would have sold for 250,000+ is now worth zilch no matter what damage they go back to.
I left Galveston before I graduated from High School.
I''ve never liked it when I''ve gone back to visit and
I only go there because that''s where my parents live.
Being a geologist I can safely state that anyone
who lives on a barrier sandbar is going to eventually
have their life turned upside down by a storm. That is, after all, what has formed these islands over the
last 100,000 years.

[saintnash]

I''ve tried for fifteen years to convince my parents to
move to a safer place. Every summer they evacuate about three times to Dallas and usually return to Galveston
with everything intact. This storm was about five years overdue and this time there''s not much point in my parents hurrying back to the island. Their home which five years ago would have sold for 250,000+ is now worth zilch no matter what damage they go back to.
I left Galveston before I graduated from High School.
I''ve never liked it when I''ve gone back to visit and
I only go there because that''s where my parents live.
Being a geologist I can safely state that anyone
who lives on a barrier sandbar is going to eventually
have their life turned upside down by a storm. That is, after all, what has formed these islands over the
last 100,000 years.

[pensacola98]

Looking at the pictures of the destroyed private planes, I have to wonder why the owners didn''''t simply fly them to safety. They had plenty of warning that this storm was on its way.


Posted by barbaraf4 at 10:15 PM : Sep 14, 2008

Many of those planes are owned by out of state owners who place them in Texas hangars to avoid paying personal property taxes in their state. Also, the flying weather in Galveston declined to unsafe conditions 3-4 days before the storm. Most owners just decided to take their chances with the circumstances and their insurance companies. Most insurance companies control fraud and will request maintenence logs to determine that an owner wasn''t filing a claim on an aircraft what wasn''t airworthy.

Often, planes get tied up in probate court, bankruptcy court, tax court, family court (divorces), and civil court and can''t be flown without risking contempt of court citations. Just about every plane that is at least 30 years old has seen its'' day in court.

[shortypa4]

For those that are bad mouthing those who stayed , just maybe they had a good reason for doing so . Do not judge them for what they have done . Before doing so put yourself in their shoes . Would you really want to leave everything you owned behind ? For some that is all they have in this old world . Instead of judging them you should be praying for their safety .
As for the low lives and thieves who is caught stealing , they should be locked up and the keys thrown away . For their punishment they should be required to have to get out there and help rebuild their city or town . They should also be required to repay those that they ripped off or robbed from . They could very well be stealing or robbing one of your very own loved ones or relatives right now and you''d never know it .
This is not the time to be judging others because something could very well happen to you . What choice will you make at the spur of the moment ? Do not judge others until you have walked in their shoes first . Think before speaking out loud about others .
Instead of bad mouthing them ,why not be offering to help in any way possible . This is a time to be sticking together not bad mouthing others or pushing them away .

[barbaraf4]

Looking at the pictures of the destroyed private planes, I have to wonder why the owners didn''t simply fly them to safety. They had plenty of warning that this storm was on its way.

[shanev137]

Please do not condemn our entire population for the actions of the outwardly stupid.

Posted by billtee3 at 08:40 PM : Sep 14, 2008

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I think it''s pretty safe to say that anybody who builds a house in the known path of hurricanes, isn''t the brightest light bulb in the box.

[fairydust4]

SWLA there are shelters so you do have to spend your money.

[billtee3]

Galveston wealthy? If you have ever been there you must have confined yourself to hotel room, dining, and cocktails. Believe me, as a born on the island Galvestonian, there are plenty of us there capable of making poor decisions. There are many of us lacking the initial resources to deploy ourselves from harms way. There are some of us outwardly stupid. Please do not condemn our entire population for the actions of the outwardly stupid.