Hurricane Ike: Leave or Die

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About 200,000 residents have fled low-lying areas of metro Houston as the powerful storm approaches.


Authorities in Harris County, which contains Houston, asked residents in low-lying areas of the county to leave, and about 80 percent to 90 percent have complied, County Executive Ed Emmett said Friday morning.
Residents in safer parts of Houston were instructed to stay inside.


"We've asked people to hunker down," Emmett said.
Most law enforcement and rescue officials will start to leave Friday night, Emmett said, so residents will be on their own after that.
The military has 42 search-and-rescue helicopters on standby, one official said.

Floodwaters surged into Galveston Island neighborhoods Friday morning.
Waves washed for blocks inland, the beginning of a storm surge that forecasters warned could reach up to 22 feet and bring "certain death" to anyone who remained in Galveston Bay homes.

More than half of the community of Surfside Beach was inundated by 8 a.m. Friday, and rescuers drove a dump truck through the streets in a final bid to get people out before the storm hits, the Houston Chronicle reported.

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Good luck to everyone living in Texas and surrounding areas.

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Preparing for IKE

Thousands of people are fleeing coastal Texas or planning to evacuate as Ike churns toward them across the Gulf of Mexico.

Whether you are staying or going, you should gather emergency supplies and keep them by the door. The emergency box or bag should include a first-aid kit, an NOAA radio, flashlight, extra batteries, copies of birth certificates, prescriptions and health, auto and house insurance documents. Also, have cash, non-perishable foods and bottled water. A fuller list of what to have can be found on the Red Cross Web site.
If you have time, the Texas Department of Insurance also suggests taking steps to protect your home such as turning off all gas and water lines and securing structurally unstable building materials. The agency also offers this fact sheet.

Preparation for staying
Make sure you have at hand all essential medications and at least five gallons of water per person and 3 to 5 day supply of non-perishable food, eating utensils, cleaning supplies and a can opener. The Texas Governor’s Division of Emergency Management Web site offers more tips on what you will need
Know the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning, and listen for mandatory evacuation orders from the government.


Evacuation
Most important is to have an evacuation plan – know when and where you are going to go. Texas has posted emergency evacuation routes on the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management Web site.
Current road conditions and closures can be found on this Texas Department of Transportation Web site. It would be smart to check it before you leave. Traffic will probably be slow-moving, so make sure your gas tank is full, you have cash to buy more gas and you have plenty of food and water.
If you have pets, you can use this Web site to check out which hotels take animals.
If you need shelter information in Texas call 1-512-424-2208. You can continually check the hurricane’s status at the National Weather Services’ Southern Region Headquarters’ Web site.


Important numbers
Probably the biggest cause of confusion in an emergency is a lack of communication. Keep a list of all emergency numbers or program them into your cell phone’s address book. The federal Web site EcoWatch provides a list of local and state government numbers.
Also, designate one friend or family member out of the storm’s path to coordinate communication. Everyone can contact that person to report their location, condition and new contact information.
If you are not in the region being hit by Hurricane Ike, but would like to help out, CNN.com has a list of agencies that are dedicated to helping hurricane devastated regions and victims.

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as hurricane ike makes landfall, my thoughts and prayers are with those who homes and families are there.

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GALVESTON, Texas - Massive Hurricane Ike ravaged southeast Texas early Saturday, battering the coast with driving rain and ferocious wind gusts as residents who decided too late they should have heeded orders to evacuate made futile calls for rescue.

It remained unclear how many people may have perished as the worst of Ike was passing over the Houston-Galveston area. But even before daylight arrived, damage was considered extensive. Thousands of homes and government buildings flooded, roads were washed out, 2.9 million people lost power and several fires burned unabated as crews could not reach them.

The biggest fear was that tens of thousands of people had defied orders to flee and would need to be rescued from submerged homes and neighborhoods.

As dawn broke, emergency officials were fielding pleas for help from residents along the coast who remained behind and were trapped in their homes. Gov. Rick Perry mobilized 7,500 National Guard troops and his homeland security chief, Steve McGraw, said rescues would start as soon as crews could safely go out.

“The unfortunate truth is we’re going to have to go in ... and put our people in the tough situation to save people who did not choose wisely. We’ll probably do the largest search and rescue operation that’s ever been conducted in the state of Texas,” said Andrew Barlow, spokesman for Perry.

Orders ignored
About half of the nearly 300,000 residents of coastal Brazoria County stayed behind in defiance of evacuation orders, officials told NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston, as did about half of the 110,000 people in Beaumont. Tens of thousands more in other areas also disregarded the National Weather Service’s warning that coastal residents refusing to evacuate “may face certain death.”

As the front of the storm moved into Galveston, fire crews rescued nearly 300 people who changed their minds and fled at the last minute. Emergency crews received about 100 calls for help during the night but weren't able to immediately respond. "We don't know what we are going to find," Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said. "We hope we will find the people who are left here alive and well."
Even before Ike made landfall, Coast Guard helicopters had rescued 103 people in the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston Island, some from roofs and others from cars, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ayla Stevens.
“Some people were on roofs, some people in cars,” she said.

Ike is passing over the rest of Texas as a category 1 hurricane, it will soon be entering Arkansas.