Hurricane Season 2008 - The Official Thread

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How bad do you think this year's hurricane season will be?

Barely a wind to speak of....
1
5%
We'll see a few small, barely organized storms that will fall apart quickly
3
14%
Several major storms -- at least Cat 3 -- will hit the U.S. causing minimal damage
6
29%
At least one catastrophic storm will slam our shores causing mass destruction and death
11
52%
 
Total votes: 21

Joolz
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Post by Joolz » 09-16-2008 12:26 AM

Be sure to watch the video at the link above called "Crystal Beach from the air." Wayne Dolcefino is reporting on the ground via satellite phone and is being filmed from a helicopter hovering above. He's been in there all day today, and he is saying ALL he has seen there are game wardens. NO ONE ELSE. No FEMA people, no National Guard. No one out looking for survivors except these guys. He talks with one of the game wardens, who tells him about a couple of people he saw get rescued. Other than that, nothing. This is very WEIRD. IMO.

In other videos the commentators are remarking about how there are no "Help" signs on the roofs they're seeing (as we did with Katrina). So what does that mean? Are these people who stayed behind in this area really all OK? Were they all rescued? Or is there simply no one left alive to ask for help?

I don't know what to think...
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Joolz
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Post by Joolz » 09-16-2008 01:03 AM

I must be the only one here posting about Ike's aftermath tonight... ;)

This is from an article at AOL, Ike Victims Wait for Food, Water and Gas (emphasis mine):
On High Island, a community of about 500 on the barrier island, houses were torn off their foundations, the smell of oil from tanks in surrounding marshfields hung heavy in the air. The road and shoreline were strewn with dozens of stranded cars, La-Z-Boy recliners, kitchen sinks and a child's bed in the shape of a car. Miraculously, the houses where people stayed were somehow standing, as if the storm chose to destroy only the empty ones.

"We really credit God with the fact that all the houses destroyed were empty," said Marty Boddie, the minister of St. Matthew's United Methodist Church. "We just thank Him for that."
Miraculously? WTF? High Island is near Galveston, but is higher ground, so it was not as devastated by the storm surge as some areas of Galveston. BUT that's beside the point here. The authors assert that the storm "miraculously" CHOSE to destroy only empty houses? And then, they quote a minister to emphasize the idea? This is journalism? Weirder and weirder... JMHO.
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Post by Joolz » 09-16-2008 01:05 AM

Site with lots of still pictures of Crystal Beach:

http://jakeabby.com/cb/
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Linnea
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Post by Linnea » 09-16-2008 02:23 AM

Hey, Joolz. Good reporting here. Just got online a while ago and discovered what you have linked up to here. Listened to the videos. Wayne Dolcefino is really doing his job.

This is, as you say, very eerie. From Rick Perry's statement, to the media blackout, the absence of people in these areas when we were informed many had remained...

Will continue to check back here, and to see if there is any other information out there.

btw - sent emails to Spike Mike at 3 of his email addresses. The verizon email routed through Houston was bounced back with a '550 550 - denied relay' message. The yahoo ones went through.

So, hoping if Spike Mike is somewhere with internet access - he will contact us. His home is in the Highlands - which is in the path of the 'dirty side' of the storm on the eastern side of Houston.

His home is on higher ground, and is quite a bit inland from the Gulf. Hopefully he and his home are okay. He has not posted at his my space blog since 9-12-08 - leaving the statement he was going to 'ride the storm'. If I hear anything at all, will post it here.

Thanks for this thread, Joolz. Am hoping there is a better explanation for all of this media blackout, etc in the area than the one I am fearing.

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Post by Linnea » 09-16-2008 02:32 AM

Well - just talked with Mike on the phone. He sounded half asleep. Said he and his mother were fine, and his house is undamaged. It is kind of late. But usually early for Spike Mike. Didn't talk long. He sounded weary. Let him know that folks here were concerned about him. He said thanks, and that everything at his place was alright.

He loves his city, and I know he must be feeling mighty low about all the damage everywhere, and tragedies that must be in that area.

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Post by Joolz » 09-16-2008 02:39 AM

Linnea wrote: Thanks for this thread, Joolz. Am hoping there is a better explanation for all of this media blackout, etc in the area than the one I am fearing.

Hi Linn... Yeah, me, too (hope there's a rational explanation). And you're welcome... I figured some Pirates would be interested in this, too. I agree about Dolcefino. Hats off to a real journalist! Thanks for checking up on Spike Mike. Hope you hear something back from him soon.
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Post by Joolz » 09-16-2008 02:43 AM

Linnea wrote: Well - just talked with Mike on the phone. He sounded half asleep. Said he and his mother were fine, and his house is undamaged. It is kind of late. But usually early for Spike Mike. Didn't talk long. He sounded weary. Let him know that folks here were concerned about him. He said thanks, and that everything at his place was alright.

He loves his city, and I know he must be feeling mighty low about all the damage everywhere, and tragedies that must be in that area.

This is good news! Thanks for calling him and letting us know. I'm sure the whole thing is overwhelming for those who live in the area.

My youngest brother and his family lived in Houston up until a couple of years ago. His wife is a native of Houston. They're in Phoenix now and I am SO glad. His daughter lives in San Antonio, and is OK. I'm sure my sister-in-law must be devastated to see what's happened to her home town. :(
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Post by Linnea » 09-16-2008 02:36 PM

Just talked with Spike Mike again. First apologizing for calling him at 2:30 AM this morning! :) Got the time zones mixed up.

Where he is, in Highlands TX, is about 4 miles from the Houston Ship Channel. His area did not get storm surge, but damaging winds and rain. The Ship Channel rose about 13', but no major flooding in Highlands.

He said power went out about 1:00 AM (Sunday morning?) - and they are still without power. Lost about three trees on his property, apparently older ones that were not too sound. The emergency crews have already been out in his area, and they were checking and flagging various power lines. Mike said he was looking at an orange flagged line that comes into his property, and he is hoping the crews will return before too long to get power restored. He is on candle power, no generator. Said they are doing okay.

All the information he is able to get is on radio - and phone. Glad he has the phone lines open. And, out by bike. A tour of surrounding area shows lots of downed trees on power lines, etc -and some damage to homes, but not extensive.

Told him what we are able to see on cable news and the internet about the devastation in Galveston, Bolivar, other beach areas. Also told him about the media blackout and denial of access to air space by the news media over those areas. He said Wayne Dolcefino is a good investigative reporter for KCTH?

He believes most of the people who did not evacuate early, still would have had access at the beginnings of the storm to get out. He does not believe there are large *numbers of people unaccounted for. Also, the areas that had beach houses are only about 25% occupied year round as residences. Most of the beach houses were seasonal rentals.

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Post by Chickadee » 09-16-2008 02:54 PM

I've been watching MSNBC and CNN and both have been showing images and discussing the current status of people returning, power outages, property damages, people in shelters, injured etc. No one I've seen so far has said anything about the animals. Has anyone seen any coverage of the pets belonging to people who lived in all those destroyed homes, belonging to the people who went to shelters?
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Post by HurricaneJoanie » 09-16-2008 08:43 PM

Thanks for checking in with Spikey, Linnea. It's good to know he's okay -- and that a power outage is the worst thing he's experienced.

Good info, Joolz!

My brother lives in Northern Ohio and got a great deal of what was left of Ike. He had 50 mph winds and his power is out. That was one d*mn strong storm....
Last edited by HurricaneJoanie on 09-16-2008 08:46 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by OMG » 09-18-2008 11:20 AM

Good to hear Spike is doing well.

Hopefully it's all settled down for the rest of the season at least. Anyone has heard of any more coming this way?

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Post by Chickadee » 09-19-2008 02:30 PM

Did you all see this item about a Civil War era schooner turning up after Ike?

When the waves from Hurricane Ike receded, they left behind a mystery — a ragged shipwreck that archeologists say could be a two-masted Civil War schooner that ran aground in 1862 or another ship from some 70 years later. The wreck, about six miles from Fort Morgan, had already been partially uncovered when Hurricane Camille cleared away sand in 1969.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080919/ap_ ... stery_ship
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Post by Joolz » 09-19-2008 06:34 PM

From firedoglake:

Missing and Presumed Dead After Ike
By: Peterr, Friday September 19, 2008 2:45 pm

One week after Ike, electricity is returning, water and sewage is still a problem, and authorities are worried about disease if people try to return too soon. But one question is nagging at me more and more each day: where are the folks who tried to ride it out in the towns that disappeared?

A clergy friend of mine in the Houston area told me that he and other pastors are holding their breath, expecting the death toll to be big -- eventually. After Katrina, the searchers found plenty of death waiting for them in the Lower 9th Ward from the flooding and destruction. After Ike, however, the dead are going to be very hard to find, if they get found at all.

In the brutally blunt words of one of his native Texan friends, "many of the folks who tried to ride it out are probably either feeding sharks in the Gulf or gators in the bayous."

We're going to get the death toll when the Postal Service figures out a system to deliver mail to addresses that no longer exist, and no one comes to claim that mail. We're going to get the death toll when businesses reopen and people not only don't show up to work but don't get in contact with their old boss. We're going to get the death toll when banks discover that formerly active accounts are suddenly dormant.

They've set up a "Missing Persons" hotline in Galveston, and those who want to help can find a lot of good suggestions here.

But prepare yourselves now: if my friend and his clergy buddies are right, the words "Missing and Presumed Dead" will become very, very familiar.
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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 09-19-2008 09:57 PM

Yes, don't get in the way of a hurricane or Linnea will call you in the middle of the night after you've been hauling limbs all day. :eek: :D

Me, mom & Bigfoot the cat are all fine here, no structural damage and three trees broken. Two of those trees were rotten (one was "woodpecker bait") and one was a bushy cedar. But we had several large limbs & tops break off tall trees, so we'll have lots of firewood come winter. Naturally, we did not flood here (32 feet above sea level on the San Jacinto River).

Highlands fared about the same in damage (trees & big limbs) with some flooding in the lower river area. Baytown (7-10 miles east of us) took a 27-foot storm surge and had lots of flooding along its coastal areas. Galveston is devastated (but not destroyed) and may be a couple of months before up & running. Bolivar Peninsula is now Bolivar Island X 3. Even futher east of us in Liberty & Dtayton is worse; I've not heard anything but I think they were just outside the eastern side of the eye, which was the roughest part of the storm. We were in the eye for two hours here.

So yes, we're battered, sore, without power for seven days but still had clean water & landline phone (amazingly). We're okay & the Houston/Galveston area is slowly coming around. Thank you for all the well-wishes. :)

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Post by Shirleypal » 09-19-2008 10:07 PM

Hi ya Mike, glad you and yours are safe.......:)

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