Hurricane Ike and Galveston

[DannyMac]

I am not sure what kind of news coverage is being broadcast to other parts of the United States, but for several days there has been a "media blackout" on reports coming out of the Galveston/Bolivar area.

 

Bolivar has been under a "Lockdown" by the State law enforcement and no reporters were allowed in after the storm. Some were able to find a way in but most of the roads are blocked now by police.

 

Galveston had 10' of water from the cruise terminal to Broadway, the water depth diminished as it approached the sea wall area. There were fires in the city that had to be allowed to burn out as firemen could not get there.

 

The infrastructure of Galveston was wiped out and it will be awhile before they can support the citizens living there. On Wednesday, Galveston is allowing it citizens to return on a "look and leave" policy. Those folks who live behind the seawall can stay, all others must leave by 6pm.

 

They are warning all citizens about the dangers of staying and the problems they will encounter.

 

Galveston is a devastated town, and to speculate on a cruise out of the area is premature. The roads are littered with debris, they are damaged, I-45 is covered with boats, houses, poles, mud, sand etc. They have done a good job of getting it cleared so traffic can pass but it will sometime before Galveston will be operational.

 

The buildings right behind the seawall and along seawall boulevard survived and some maybe operational, but they are not allowing non-citizens on the island and it is misleading to speculate on what is going on.

 

Now to the bad part, on Bolivar the State is keeping its mouth shut on deaths, there are some reports leaking out, the death toll will be very high as many choose to ride the storm out. I have seen some estimates that it could be 1000+.

 

If you have ever seen pictures of Atomic bomb damage on Japan during WWII, that is what Bolivar looks like. The west end of Galveston Island is about the same.

 

The channel is a problem, all navigational aides are gone, markers, bouys, lights, signs, everything. Right now there are about 100 ships anchored offshore waiting for the channel to reopen.

 

Many of you will ask, How do you know this? I have fished Galveston Bay for 50 yrs. I live on the upper NW side of the bay about 8 miles from LaPorte. Many of my friends are fisherman who live in the area that was impacted by the storm and have made unauthorized trips by boat into the area.

[karenh1127]

Hey DannyMac! I see you just posted this morning but so much has changed so not sure how up to date your info is. Since we both live in Deer Park, I assume you went awhile w/o power. I went less than a day without power (thank you for building the new firestation next to me!) The media was let in after several days of complaining and I do think they were banned for fear of what would be found. There are alot of news footages covering both Galveston and Boliver. And there IS tons of destruction. Galveston wont be ready to receive visitors any time soon. The "look&leave" project was cancelled after the first day. Too much traffic and not enough time in the day for all to pass thru the checkpoints. Now as of yesterday evening, the mayor of Galveston is allowing residents to return this Wed. There will be a curfew but they can stay at their own risk. Even though there is a gas station, Kroger, and a POD location on the island. These were put there mostly for the utility workers and response teams who are on the island beginning the clean-up. Finally several days ago they reopened the channel for ships to come thru. That is how the Conquest and Ecstasy got to the Bayport terminal (even though they had docked Ecstasy off Barbours Cut where Norwegian use to sail from). As far as Boliver goes, they are going to start taking residents in a few at at time this coming week beginning with High Island and working their way up to Boliver Ferry. The bridge into their from Winnie is damaged except for a little area in the shoulder part, just big enough for atv's and the such. I know they have interviewed people who are missing loved ones but I have never heard the number at 1000+ possible dead. I hope my info is still all correct as I have been watching the tv coverage since the day after the storm. I do hope all are safe and those without power will have it soon! Thanks for your post as it does help those in other parts of the country know what is going on.

[DannyMac]

Hey There Karen,

 

We live over in Parkside Place, just before the power lines on Pasadena Blvd. We were without power for 6 days. Did you get any damage at your house?

 

Most of my info comes from guys that I know who live or have property on Bolivar and have been in contact with LEO, or what they know about the area after they left.

 

Some have made unauthorized trips by boat back to Bolivar, HI, and Crystal Beach. The trip is about a 2hr. boat ride due to all the debris in the bay.

 

At first the 1000+ number seemed large but it remains consistant each time I talk with these guys. I think it could be lower but they keep talking about the large number of people who didn't leave.

 

I'm not sure what kind of info the rest of the United States is getting but vacations and cruises out of Galveston will be a long time coming.

[buckanear]

The good news is, Galvestonians are allowed back on Wednesday.

 

This media blackout and the delay for residents getting back to their homes has a price to pay. Furious residents are demanding a reasonable explanation and are about ready to storm the causeway into Galveston. The costly delay of two weeks means that there is signaficantly more damage to property than what there should have been. Adding salt (water) to the wound, people who are not emergency aid and who have not left when they were told (both before and after the hurricane) have been allowed to stay and openly work on their homes while other residents have been blocked out. The delay is absolutely unheard of and residents are furious.

My point in this rant is that if Galveston wants it's tourism back, then they are going to need people here to work and the longer people are away and rebuilding their lives elsewhere, the less likely they are to come home. Especially if everything they own is destroyed by mold giving them nothing to come back to.

[karenh1127]

Hey There Karen,

 

We live over in Parkside Place, just before the power lines on Pasadena Blvd. We were without power for 6 days. Did you get any damage at your house?

 

Most of my info comes from guys that I know who live or have property on Bolivar and have been in contact with LEO, or what they know about the area after they left.

 

Some have made unauthorized trips by boat back to Bolivar, HI, and Crystal Beach. The trip is about a 2hr. boat ride due to all the debris in the bay.

 

At first the 1000+ number seemed large but it remains consistant each time I talk with these guys. I think it could be lower but they keep talking about the large number of people who didn't leave.

 

I'm not sure what kind of info the rest of the United States is getting but vacations and cruises out of Galveston will be a long time coming.

 

 

We live in Park Green just off 13th st. We had some roof damage that caused sheet rock to leak and break up in 2 of our rooms. Our fence is mostly gone and rain blew in under the french doors destroying our wood floor but hey, we are good and with my getting power back so quickly I was able to offer a cool place for many family members. I have a cousin who has a bayhouse (canal) on the west end in Sea Isle. He just built it 2 years ago and he said it was fine but he has lots of neighbors who lost alot. He said his neighborhood looks like a war zone. So sad. We rent a beach house every fall on Crystal Beach and I already had my deposit on it for Nov. It is only about 5-6 years old but it was like 8 ft. from the beach so I just dont know if it is still there. It is all so surreal. We love Galveston and hope it is back up and running as soon as possible.