Evacuations begin as Ike heads for Texas

by Amy Judd | September 10, 2008 at 09:20 am

418 views | 26 Recommendations | 11 comments

People are already starting to be evacuated from Texas, as Hurricane Ike is gaining strength across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is headed straight for the Texas coast after crashing through Cuba and hitting Havana especially hard.

See some original coverage from member foneman30 in Texas here.

Forecasters said the Category 1 storm was already strengthening over open waters after leaving Cuba and could grow into a massive Category 3 storm before slamming into Texas, northern Mexico or western Louisiana.

The forecast prompted Texas officials to go into the initial phases of evacuation mode.

Residents of the Corpus Christi area who have special medical needs were to be put on buses Wednesday morning and taken to San Antonio, and state troopers and local police were to guide traffic along an evacuation route, Interstate 37.

Emergency officials also prepared to evacuate a million people from the impoverished Rio Grande Valley. Almost 1,000 buses were lined up in case the need arose to move out the many poor and elderly people who have no cars.

Texas put 7,500 National Guard members on standby Tuesday and urged coastal residents to stock up on supplies.

Ike has already killed at least 80 people in the Caribbean.

Ike chased about 2.6 million Cubans into shelter and it damaged hundreds of homes before moving to Los Palacios, which was already hit by Hurricane Gustav.
Gustav didn't cause any deaths, but did a lot of damage. Ike is appearing to do both however.
Ike is expected to strengthen before making landfall again in the States.

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dunkelberg

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:53 on September 10th, 2008

By Jeorge Zarazua - Express-News
The number of buses that have arrived in San Antonio to help evacuate residents along the Texas Gulf Coast fleeing from Hurricane Ike has increased to nearly 400, officials said Tuesday.

Hundreds more are expected as the state continues to rev up its preparations for Ike’s landfall, now forecast to land somewhere near Corpus Christi on Saturday morning. Officials caution, however, that forecast can change as Ike churns away from Cuba — where it hit this weekend as a Category 3 storm — and into the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

In preparation for Ike’s landfall, the San Antonio Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster, or SAVOAD, opened up a volunteer operations center at Freeman Coliseum to aid in the recruitment of volunteers interested in helping those fleeing from the hurricane.

Those wishing to help are asked to go to the coliseum’s Frontier Room, beginning at noon Wednesday to register for volunteer opportunities. The registration process includes the completion of an application, background check and orientation. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, bring a photo id and come prepared with a schedule of availability. For more information or directions to the Freeman Coliseum, contact the Volunteer Operations Center at (210) 224-5365.

Local officials also made pleas Tuesday for medical professionals to volunteer to help assist evacuees arriving in San Antonio. Everybody from doctors to nurses to medical students to mental health professionals wishing to volunteer were encouraged to call the Medical Volunteer Coordination Center at (210) 233-5910.

Ike is currently a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph, but officials anticipate it could regain its strength as it moves into the gulf and make landfall along the Texas coast as a Category 3 storm.

The threat prompted Gov. Rick Perry Tuesday to order the pre-deployment of state resources as Ike continues to barrel toward Texas.

“We continue to closely monitor this storm and are preparing accordingly for its potential impact to our communities,” Perry said. “Hurricane Ike is making its way to the gulf as we speak, and it is imperative that residents pay attention to this storm, heed warnings from their local leaders and take the steps necessary to protect their families, homes and businesses.”

On Monday, Perry issued a disaster declaration covering 88 Texas counties, including Bexar and surrounding counties. Local authorities mobilized the San Antonio Emergency Operations Center and began preparations to become a shelter city again for the second week in a row. Last week, San Antonio served as both a shelter and staging area for emergency personnel responding to Hurricane Gustav’s threat.

One local shelter is already open and prepared to house up to 2,000 ambulance and bus drivers and other emergency personnel responding to Ike.

Orlando Hernandez, Bexar County’s emergency management coordinator, said he anticipates up to 1,300 buses and between 250 and 300 ambulances to arrive in San Antonio, where they will wait to learn if, when and where they will be deployed.

Vinny

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:55 on September 10th, 2008

dunkelberg

at 09:57 on September 10th, 2008

Dallas-Fort Worth preparations intensify for Hurricane Gustav 08:12 AM CDT on Sunday, August 31, 2008 By RUDOLPH BUSH and DAN X. McGRAW / The Dallas Morning News
As Hurricane Gustav churned ever meaner toward a destructive date with the Gulf Coast, those fleeing the storm streamed into North Texas on Saturday while area emergency managers prepared to shelter thousands more.

Texas agencies and local officials ramped up evacuation readiness across the state's coastal region Saturday. And Gov. Rick Perry said Texas could receive 45,000 Louisiana residents in advance of Gustav, now expected to become a Category 5 storm and bash that state's coast Monday afternoon.

Of those, some 4,100 New Orleans residents are due to arrive in North Texas beginning today. About 1,000 will be sheltered at the Dallas Convention Center downtown, with the rest spread across smaller sites in Fort Worth and area suburbs.

Dallas officials, along with staff and volunteers from the American Red Cross, worked Saturday to prepare the convention center. But First Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans, who is coordinating Dallas' response, said it wasn't clear exactly when today the evacuees would arrive.

Texas Gulf Coast hospitals have postponed the evacuation of up to 500 critical-care patients to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport because the storm appeared headed for a Louisiana landfall, said Bill Bossert, the lead area emergency manager at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Medical professionals will remain on call this weekend and continue to hold at least 500 area hospital beds for the patients, he said.

Christina 123

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 12:43 on September 10th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. One report says it may reach Category 4!

dunkelberg

at 14:45 on September 10th, 2008

Yep, and, if that happens, we could get a good taste of it up here in the Fort Worth/Dallas area.

Right now, we are just hoping for rain.

Local officials say they are planning for housing evacuees and for dealing with major wind and rain.

Looking like a direct hit on Port Aransas. Look out rescued sea turtles! Hang in there, Shorty's Place.

Rhonda J Mangus

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 12:49 on September 10th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

dunkelberg

at 14:06 on September 10th, 2008

Ike is expected to hit hard and keep going, right into areas where evacuees are fleeing.

Special Weather StatementSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
412 PM CDT WED SEP 10 2008

TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-110400-
MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-FANNIN-LAMAR-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN-
HUNT-DELTA-HOPKINS-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS-
ROCKWALL-KAUFMAN-VAN ZANDT-RAINS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL-
JOHNSON-ELLIS-HENDERSON-COMANCHE-MILLS-HAMILTON-BOSQUE-HILL-
NAVARRO-FREESTONE-ANDERSON-LAMPASAS-CORYELL-BELL-MCLENNAN-FALLS-
LIMESTONE-LEON-MILAM-ROBERTSON-
412 PM CDT WED SEP 10 2008

...HURRICANE IKE WILL SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACT NORTH TEXAS SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY...

HURRICANE IKE WILL MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE MIDDLE TEXAS COAST DURING
THE EARLY MORNING HOURS SATURDAY. THE HURRICANE WILL MOVE QUICKLY
NORTH...GENERALLY ALONG THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR OVER THE WEEKEND.
AT THIS TIME...IKE IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN TO TROPICAL STORM STRENGTH
BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS THE SYSTEM MOVES INTO CENTRAL TEXAS. BY
SUNDAY AFTERNOON...REMNANTS OF IKE WILL BE NORTH OF THE RED RIVER.

WHILE THE STORM WILL BE WEAKENING AS IT MOVES ACROSS NORTH TEXAS...
SUBSTANTIAL IMPACTS ARE LIKELY. WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL OF 4 OR
MORE INCHES...STRONG WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ANTICIPATED.
ADDITIONALLY...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR AND TO THE
EAST OF THE TRACK OF THE CENTER OF THE STORM.

...WIND IMPACTS...

ALL OF NORTH TEXAS WILL EXPERIENCE STRONG WINDS AS A RESULT OF IKE.
OVER CENTRAL TEXAS...INCLUDING THE WACO/TEMPLE/KILLEEN AREAS...
SUSTAINED WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH WITH GUSTS TO HURRICANE FORCE
ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY. FURTHER
NORTH...SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40 MPH OR HIGHER ARE EXPECTED WITH
GUSTS TO 60 MPH ACROSS THE INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR...INCLUDING THE
DALLAS/FORT WORTH METROPLEX LATE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. HIGH RISE
BUILDINGS MAY EXPERIENCE EVEN STRONGER WINDS AT ROOFTOP LEVEL.

CITIZENS AND THOSE WITH INTERESTS ACROSS NORTH TEXAS SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR POWER OUTAGES AND TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO SECURE OUTDOOR
MATERIALS AND BELONGINGS THAT ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO STRONG WINDS.

...HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING IMPACTS...

WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL OF 4 INCHES IS LIKELY LATE SATURDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS TO NEAR 8 INCHES POSSIBLE. THE
WIDESPREAD AND HEAVY NATURE OF THE RAIN WILL LEAD TO RAPID RISES ON
RIVERS...STREAMS...AND CREEKS WITH FLOODING LIKELY.

...TORNADO THREAT...

ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF THE
CENTER OF IKE AS IT MOVES ACROSS NORTH TEXAS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS FROM IKE WILL DEPEND ON THE EXACT TRACK
AND SPEED OF MOVEMENT. THE STRONGEST WINDS AND GREATEST CHANCES FOR
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND TORNADOES TYPICALLY OCCUR TO THE EAST OF THE
CENTER OF THE STORM. MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS ON THESE IMPACTS WILL BE
PROVIDED IN LATER FORECASTS.

MONITOR FORECASTS FROM YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT
WORTH AND THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER THROUGH NOAA WEATHER RADIO...
OUR INTERNET HOMEPAGE...AND LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION.

$$

SCHULTZ/BUNTING

Vinny

at 14:13 on September 10th, 2008

Ike is now a category 2 and expected to become a major hurricane within the next 24 hours according to the latest advisory.

Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 19:35 on September 10th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

slashbe

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 21:40 on September 10th, 2008

amyjudd, the photo attached to the story I think captures what all us Texans are thinking right about now. It's been a busy hurricane season hasn't it.