Hurricane Ike Targets Sailing City
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| 'To arrive Galveston this morning - Hurricane Ike (NASA image)' . |
Yesterday large waves were crashing onto the beaches of Galveston Island under a darkening sky. Local officials were urging anyone who has not already left the coastal areas to get out now. Hundreds of thousands of people took that advice Thursday and vehicles moved slowly, but steadily up highways leading up from the coast through Houston and to destinations farther inland.
As officials conferred with meteorologists tracking Hurricane Ike early Friday they looked for signs that the eye of the massive storm might be moving up the coast away from Houston, as Hurricane Rita did in September, 2005. But Houston Mayor Bill White says this storm is coming right at the city.
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Hurricane Ike Friday from NOAA - .. . |
Federal officials are estimating $3 billion in damage to the area as the storm moves inland in the coming hours. The first danger is from the storm surge, which could be higher than 6 meters in some coastal areas. Experts say nine out of ten people killed by hurricanes are victims of the surge and flooding caused by the surge.
The next danger comes from high winds. Heavy rains also pose a threat because the Gulf of Mexico waters will be so high that normal drainage will be curtailed.
New Orleans has yet to fully recover from Katrina and has just over half the population it had before the hurricane. Images of Katrina's devastation are still fresh in the minds of people here in Houston and all along the Gulf coast as another monster storm approaches land.
by BW Media News Roundup
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