Image of Hurricane Ike on September 4, 2008 as it began to near peak intensity. The image was taken by the International Space Station (ISS) from over 220 miles (350 km) above the hurricane.
The above image is of Hurricane Ike near its peak velocity as it existed at the Lesser Antilles. Below is its path. With traditional paths of Atlantic hurricanes comes drought relief. If the Atlantic hurrican is sequestered further south in the hemisphere, the drought relief that normally comes with these storms may never be realized.
When the President of the USA declares and area a 'disaster area' that doesn't mean 'just' a free money giveaway. It means there is funding available to clean up the mess. What occurred here is wasteful use of federal funding that never addressed the 'real' problems of the people.
While much debris from Hurricane Ike washed ashore, an untold amount sank or remains partially submerged in Galveston Bay, creating dangerous situations for boaters, who can strike the hard-to-see obstructions.
What lies beneath (click title to entry - thank you)
That mountain of stuff washed off the Bolivar Peninsula during Hurricane Ike poses a very real threat to boaters
By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Houston Chronicle
March 12, 2009, 3:40AM
Port Bolivar-based fishing guide Jim West has spent thousands of days roaming East Galveston Bay over the past quarter-century-plus, poking his boat’s bows into every nook, cove, bayou, drain and stretch of shoreline of the bay on which he lives and works. Few know the eastern lobe of the Galveston Bay system more intimately or feel more comfortable scooting across its surface.
But these days, West pays very close attention when he’s running his boat in many parts of the bay.
“You have to watch it — especially when you’re running fairly shallow or on low tides,” West said. “There is a lot of stuff out there you don’t want to hit.”
That “stuff” is debris Hurricane Ike swept into the bay almost six months ago. There is a lot of it, and it poses a substantial hazard to boaters.
When the hurricane’s winds and storm surge swept over Bolivar Peninsula, they crushed, crumbled, uprooted and carried away much of what was on the spit of land separating the Gulf of Mexico from East Bay, shoving a mountain of debris into the bay....
