17 September 2008
After living most of my life on the West Coast, the Boeing Company moved my family to the Houston area of Texas in the late 60’s. My husband was the project manager of the Apollo 11-15 space program and we went down as a start-up team and stayed three years. This was my first experience living in hurricane territory. We lived in Seabrook, TX on Galveston Bay. In 1969 Hurricane Camille, the second largest hurricane in the 20th century to hit the U.S. arrived. Mississippi took the brunt of the storm with a lot of damage and deaths. Other cities on Galveston Bay were not spared and we got our first taste of a hurricane. We boarded up our windows and waited it out. Fortunately all we got in Seabrook was a lot of water. We had two feet of water in our town and couldn’t get out for two days.
Hurricane Ike was not as kind to the Galveston area. Knowing that a huge hurricane was on it’s way people were required to leave the area. As with many hurricanes, there were the foolhardy who chose to stay, some of whom lost their lives and others who required rescue services to save them. To date those who evacuated are not allowed to return and others who stayed are being evacuated, as the area is in ruins and there is a toxic mix of debris made up of mud, human waste, asbestos, lead and gasoline. This situation poses a serious health risk. The search for the dead or people stranded continues. There are no basic services and it may be a month before services can be restored. Natural gas service cannot be restored until homes that remain can be checked for structural damage and possible gas leaks. It might take more than a year to remove all the debris.
Damages to Galveston Island are estimated to be $10 billion. As Ike swept ashore many small towns were inundated and people are not being allowed to return. Houston further inland was not spared, over a million people are without power and tall buildings in downtown Houston had their windows blown out. The city is under curfew from dawn to dusk. President Bush surveyed the damage yesterday and realized that Ike caused the worst damage that Texas has ever received.
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