It does not seem like much of Galveston is going to be left

http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/sloshguidance091208alarge.html

The above is a map of the projected storm surge.

This may be alarmist but from my decidedly amateur point of view this looks bad.

The problem is that Ike has been headed straight at Texas for a long time. The wind stirs up waves and the longer wind blows over water the more water it moves. Ike has gone the length of the gulf at hurricane strength. High winds over a long period means a greater mass is moving. And once the mass starts at sea with near zero friction, then the more mass of water that will go on land. Think of the tsunami. A great mass of water was moved, no more energy was added yet places hundreds and thousands of miles away were effected. The surge cannot be stopped, even if the storm turns away.

The waves were topping the seawall hours ago.
This flooding is going to be worse than the 1900 storm that killed 6,000.

Maybe we should back of the politics - if you are a religious or spiritual person, it is time to pray for the people who did not heed the evacuation warnings.

My sister and brother in law's fish camp house will be swept off the beach of the bay.

Sucks.

Lotta people and lotta oil refineries there and in Beaumont.

of course, they had virtually no warning beforehand, unlike now

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane_of_1900

And already the storm surge/waves are being reported at 10 to 15 feet in some areas. Imagine what it'll be when Ike is only 20, 30 miles from landfall. And it will be dark when that happens:scared:

Comment direct from the weather service as passed along via the weather channel:
'be prepared for the strong possibility for loss of life'


If you haven't left yet and you're in the path of Ike, you better do so now while you still have the chance.