Hurricane Ike's Wake

The Texas Observer 12/12/08
The Castaways
Can Galveston's black community survive the island's comeback?

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Hurricane Ike damaged about 75 percent of Galveston’s homes. But the storm wreaked extra havoc on North Side neighborhoods. Water surged from Galveston Bay into the low-lying area, flooding homes that were built decades ago under lax building codes. Meanwhile, luxury houses, many sitting practically on the beach, weathered the storm virtually unscathed.


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On the North Side, four of six housing projects are filled with mud and mold, fenced in and condemned by the Galveston Housing Authority. Many of their residents are now stranded in a diaspora that includes San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Texas City. Others sleep in cars, on the beach or, until recently, in two tent cities that sprang up before FEMA brought in trailers. The sudden scarcity of housing has sent rents skyrocketing. Galveston’s post-hurricane economic tailspin was compounded by the November announcement that the island’s largest employer, the University of Texas Medical Branch, was laying off 3,800 employees. (See sidebar.)

Like many on the North Side, Burkley is growing increasingly fretful about the slow pace of recovery. Despite assurances from authorities that Galveston’s poor and working-class residents will be welcomed back, many fear that long-term rebuilding plans—only now unfolding—won’t include them. The storm was bad. The aftermath may be worse.

"The big picture: Nobody knows when we’re going to start working on these projects, when we’re going to start putting this community back together," Burkley says. "This is what we call a disaster area. Where is the money for the disaster? Can’t no one say you can survive on ‘wait for what’s coming.’"