Hurricane Ike Batters Texas, 4.5 Million Lose Power

[marmar]

from Bloomberg:



Hurricane Ike Batters Texas, 4.5 Million Lose Power (Update1)

By Brian K. Sullivan and Tom Korosec

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Ike plowed into Texas early today, driving the Gulf of Mexico's waters into Galveston Island, blowing out office-building windows and cutting power to at least 4.5 million customers in the Houston area.

The Category 2 storm flooded areas, shut oil refineries and prompted panicked calls from residents who didn't join the 1 million-strong exodus from its path. Winds blew pine trees sideways in Houston, the nation's fourth-biggest city, where electrical transformers sparked and residents waited out the hurricane in their homes under a citywide curfew.

``Virtually every customer who receives electricity on the overhead distribution network is without power,'' said Floyd LeBlanc, spokesman for Houston-based CenterPoint Energy Inc. ``This was a really big hurricane; we looked at a wind field when it was on land of 250 miles.''

Houston's 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower had windows on its west side smashed out, according to the CBS affiliate KHOU-TV in Houston. The Enron Building and Crown Plaza Hotel were also damaged, the station reported. The city's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby airports remained closed. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFEy_MY61M4o&refer=home

[ConcernedCanuk]

1. Millions of people rely on Air Conditioning in that area for survival

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I expect a horrible amount of deaths related to excessive heat. High rises without A/C are heat death-traps.

The Gulf area has been known for centuries to be a host to massive hurricanes and tornadoes

A responsible government(which the USA doesn't have) would limit growth, and protect infrastructure(such as having underground hydro lines) from the inevitable storms that plague this area.

People won't learn though, they are dumber than the "dumbest" animal that knows when to relocate.

They'll collect their insurances, mourn the dead, take their losses, then rebuild - IN THE SAME PLACE!

After all, a storm like this hasn't happened for over 100 years - WE'RE GOOD FOR ANOTHER CENTURY!

Morans indeed . . .