Hurricanes Ike! Update #1

Neither of the previous two summers have been like this one. Before July, I was largely ignorant of our work's hurricane policy. Hurricane supplies, evacutations, missed work hadn't really entered my mind. We've been kept home from work once and now we've been sent home for two days for Ike. This seems like it will be the real deal. Here's a few highlights from the hurricane preparedness so far.


The hurricane track






This is the second time this summer that we've been within the 3-day track. To me, that means you need to be getting ready. Hurricane warnings are new to me. What's different about this storm is that it's very large. I would think it would be unusual for hurricane warnings to be in effect outside the projected landfall area. The storm is about 500 miles across.

We were told to go home from work this morning at 8:30 after Harris County called for a mandatory evacuation of some areas. Many people who work at the plant live in Clear Lake, La Porte, Baytown, and other areas along the bay.

Zones 1 and 2 are under mandatory evacuation

The reason for the evacuation of these areas is the storm surge. If Ike hits southwest of Houston, as is planned, Galveston Bay will be on the "dirty" side of the hurricane. The winds might not be as high as near the eye, but the storm surge is worse.

The mandatory evacuation was called for Zones A and B for 12PM, but it looks like people have already started leaving. Unfortunately, they waited to call for the evacuation of Galveston Island until later this morning, so I-45 northbound between Galveston and Beltway 8 is getting very bad, but still moving. I-45 through downtown is bad but still moving. I-10 west by the beltway is also bad in a small stretch.

I'll give more updates as I see fit.