Texas Faces Disaster

The massive hurricane Ike, with a diameter of nearly 1,000 km, struck the coast of the American state of Texas near the city of Galveston early Saturday morning as a Category II storm with winds of around 180 km/h, heavy rains, and a large storm surge threatening thousands of people who ignored evacuation calls.

At around 2:00 AM Eastern Time, the center of the hurricane was located about 50 kilometers southeast of Galveston, where waves were overtopping a coastal wall over five meters high, and streets were flooded with more than a meter of water. The city, which has a population of 60,000, lost power, and hundreds of homes were flooded, reported the American TV network MSNBC. In the metropolitan area of Houston, where more than 4.5 million residents live, about a million people were without power. The report warns that Ike, due to its exceptional size, could raise water levels by as much as 7.5 meters, causing catastrophic flooding.

Authorities warned that the flood threat looms over 100,000 homes, but despite dramatic warnings and the evacuation of nearly a million people from the coast, it is feared that around 90,000 people remain in the affected areas. Firefighters in Galveston rescued about 300 people on Friday night who changed their minds when water began to surge into their homes, but for most of those who stayed, it is too late for evacuation.

Rescue teams fear that dawn will bring a nightmare scenario – thousands of people who ignored evacuation calls and remain trapped in flooded neighborhoods. “We don’t know what we will find in the morning… I hope that the people who stayed on Galveston Island managed to survive this,” said Galveston Mayor Lynda Ann Thomas. In Houston, only residents of low-lying areas were evacuated, but the majority of the 2.2 million residents stayed home.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that more than 5.5 million ready-to-eat meals have been sent to the region, along with over 230 generators and 5.6 million liters of water. At least 3,500 FEMA officials are in Texas and neighboring Louisiana. In Houston, there are fears that the storm surge created by the hurricane will enter the Ship Channel all the way to the city port, which is the second busiest in the U.S., damaging port facilities.

The oil and gas industry is closely monitoring Ike’s movement as it approaches an area with about 25 refineries and petrochemical complexes, 15 of which have already ceased operations. Due to fears of shortages, gasoline prices in the region have surged to around $4.85 per gallon (one gallon = 3.8 liters) on average. Ike is the first major hurricane to hit an American metropolitan area since 2005 when Katrina caused massive damage to New Orleans. For Houston, this is the first major hurricane since August 1983, when Alicia claimed 21 lives and caused two billion dollars in damage. (H)