Effects of Hurricane Ike in Texas

Hurricane Ike
Satellite image of Hurricane Ike on September 12 as it approached Texas
Category 2 hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds110 mph (175 km/h)
Highest gusts130 mph (215 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities84 total
Damage$30 billion (2008 USD)
Areas affectedEast Texas (especially Galveston, Bolivar Peninsula, Gilchrist)
Part of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Ike caused major destruction in Texas with crippling and long-lasting effects, including death, widespread damage, and impacts to the price and availability of oil and gas. Hurricane Ike also had a long-term impact on the U.S. economy.[1] Making landfall over Galveston as a Category 2 hurricane, at 2:10 a.m. CDT[2] on September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike caused extensive damage in Texas, with sustained winds of 110 mph (180 km/h), a 22 ft (6.7 m) storm surge, and widespread coastal flooding.[2][3][4]

More than 140,000 residents in the Texas Gulf Coast danger zones in Ike's path had failed to evacuate,[5] partly due to fears of multi-hour traffic jams as during Hurricane Rita, but over 940 were rescued from rising waters,[2][6] and nearly 2,000 rescued afterward.[5][7] As of December 27, 2008, 37 people are known to have died in Texas due to Ike while hundreds are still missing.[8]

The storm had come ashore hours before daybreak with 110-mph (175 km/h) winds and towering waves, pushing boats ashore, smashing many houses, flooding thousands of homes, knocking out windows in Houston's skyscrapers,[2] uprooting trees, and cutting electric power to millions of customers (estimates range from 2.8 million[9] to 4.5 million[10] customers) for weeks or months.[6]

Some people survived by punching holes in attics,[11] climbing to rooftops or trees,[12] using nearby boats, or floating on debris[12] until reaching solid ground.

Afterward, an estimated 100,000 homes had been flooded in Texas, and numerous boats washed ashore. Galveston was declared uninhabitable, and Houston imposed a week-long nighttime curfew due to limited electric power.[5]

  1. ^ Ike's effect on U.S. economy
  2. ^ a b c d Sherman, Christopher; Arrillaga, Pauline (2008-09-13). "By air, boat and truck, search on for Ike victims". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  3. ^ Lozano, Juan A.; Duncan, Chris (2008-09-13). "Ike blasts Texas coast, floods homes, cuts power". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  4. ^ "Ike's economic damage may be less than feared". NBC News. Associated Press. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  5. ^ a b c "Hurricane Ike Spurs 2,000 Rescues; Thousands More Await". National Geographic. 2008-09-14. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15 – via Associated Press.
  6. ^ a b Baltimore, Chris (2008-09-14). "Storm Ike moves on leaving extensive damage in Texas". Reuters/Comcast. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  7. ^ Sherman, Christopher (2008-09-14). "Nearly 2,000 brought to safety in Texas". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  8. ^ Texas in 2008: Ike dominated news like no other Jeff Carlton - The Associated Press
  9. ^ "Hurricane Ike Situation Report # 2" (PDF). 2008-09-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  10. ^ Sullivan, Brian K.; Korosec, Tom (2008-09-13). "Hurricane Ike Batters Texas, 4.5 Million Lose Power (Update4)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference GDNrep was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Dorell, Oren (2008-09-15). "Almost 2,000 Ike survivors rescued". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-09-15.