A Million Flee as Storm Hits Texas Coast

[Faygo Kid]

Source: New York Times

HOUSTON — The outer bands of Hurricane Ike began lashing the Texas coast on Friday night as the enormous storm, 550 miles wide, churned toward Galveston and Houston, raising fears that a 20-foot-high wall of seawater could devastate Galveston.

By late Friday, more than a million Texans had left their homes, but the authorities feared that too many had stayed behind, putting their lives at risk. Officials in Galveston, on a vulnerable barrier island, estimated that 40 percent of the city’s 57,000 residents had ignored an order to evacuate.

As many as 100,000 homes could be inundated by the wall of water expected to hit the coast, federal officials warned, and millions of people could be left without electricity. . . .



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/us/13ike.html?hp

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It's here.

[raystorm7]

1. I live in Houston and the 24/7 coverage is beyond overboard =/ better not blackout the Sat game :p

[jody]

2. Google Earth shows Ike will pass 6 miles west of Galveston. The surge could devastate that area.

[Alcibiades]

3. Not sure if it will work

but I just said a little prayer for you folks out there. I hope that no one is hurt, though it's certain much property will be damaged.

[Alcibiades]

4. Time to visit that other underground

Weather Underground

http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=zoom&num=6&delay=15&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&ID=HGX&type=N0R&lat=29.01413918&lon=-95.31462097&label=Freeport,%20TX&showstorms=0&map.x=271&map.y=245¢erx=400¢ery=240&lightning=0&smooth0&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0

[jody]

5. Thanks for the post and link. Have a pleasant evening. n/t

[Alcibiades]

7. You, too

I hope everybody got out of there. Folks on the Gulf Coast seem to take these things seriously. When you go for too long without one, though, people forget what it's like, and they think they can ride it out.

[aquart]

8. Been on Jeff Masters' blog most of the night.

Same place I was for Kristina.

[Dr.Phool]

6. They had better not step on Magoo's lawn.