Millions affected by Ike now trying to regroup

Monday, September 15, 2008

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A Louisiana man wades through waist-deep water Saturday after Ike's fury subsided. (Click to see more images of Ike's aftermath.)

(Bay News 9) -- Millions of people are trying to regroup now that Hurricane Ike has passed.

More than two million people are without power following the Category 2 storm's assault on southeastern Texas. Now, officials are in the process of conducting the largest search and rescue mission in the state's history.

Crews worked through the night, sifting through rubble and going door-to-door to check on the estimated 140,000 people who defied orders to evacuate. A thousand people were reportedly rescued Saturday.

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal said that 600 people had been rescued from Ike's floodwaters. Currently, there are two confirmed fatalities in the United States, but officials expressed concern that flooded roads are making it difficult to conduct searches, and that as a result, the number may rise.

Ike had already claimed the lives of dozens of people as it swept through the Caribbean.

Galveston took the brunt of the storm surge and high-speed winds. Dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed in the area. Galveston Island remains closed as authorities assess the damage and begin the long process of cleaning up the piles of rubble and debris.

Ike, which some forecasters described as being the size of Texas, started pushing water onto land several hours before the storm made landfall. While the storm surge did not reach the predicted 20 to 25 feet, the highest storm surge recorded did reach 15 feet. Officials said the historic district of Galveston saw seven feet of water.

Hurricane Ike not only brought strong winds and flooding to Galveston - it also started fires.

At least 10 buildings were destroyed by fire in Galveston. Officials said some of the fires burned out of control because firefighters were not able to reach them, and that even when firefighters were able to get to the fires, their ability to fight the blazes were hampered because their hoses had no water pressure.

Firefighters were hampered in their ability to fight fires during Ike.

Brennan's, a popular restaurant in downtown Houston, was one such casualty of the storm. The historic restaurant, where scenes from the movie "Terms of Endearment" were filmed, burned to the ground after a transformer exploded. Two employees and a child were hurt.

Ike's power was felt in metropolitan Houston, where torrential rains and flooding turned the streets into rivers. Power lines were downed. Poles, tree branches and traffic lights littered the streets.

In downtown Houston, powerful winds blew out the windows of the city's tallest skyscraper, the 75-story JP Morgan Chase Tower, and covered the streets in shards of glass, furniture, computers and insulation. Even so, the downtown district of Houston was one of the few areas that still had power during the storm.

Ike also left its mark on southwestern Louisiana, where at least 10 parishes have been declared federal disaster areas. Hundreds of residents on the coast had to be rescued from their homes yesterday. Thousands of people remain without power in Louisiana. The area was hit by Rita a few years ago, but residents say that this storm was worse.

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The storm surge breached dozens of private levees, allowing Lake Ponchartrain to spill over into the streets.

Tremors from Ike's impact are also being felt throughout the United States, as energy prices soared due to fears that the storm would disrupt fuel supplies. The U.S. Department of Energy said that 13 refineries were closed for the storm, and that oil rigs throughout the Gulf of Mexico were also shut down.

Two of those oil rigs were set adrift in the Gulf by Ike. Officials said the rigs are located about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast, but they've been relatively stationary. Tugs are expected to secure them later on Sunday.

In Florida, energy concerns sparked a run on fuel, despite assurances from Gov. Charlie Crist that the state had plenty in reserves. Gas stations throughout the Bay area ran out of fuel this weekend. Some stations sold gas at prices that topped $4 and even $5 a gallon throughout Florida.

The Attorney General's office reported almost 200 complaints of price gouging. Gov. Crist said gas station owners will be prosecuted.

"I want florida to understand this will not be tolerated, that it is unconscionable this would happen," Crist said.

Anyone who suspects price gouging is encouraged to call 1-800-HELP-FLA to report it.

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