Nothing like a killer hurricane to put your own troubles in perspective. Here's Ike, barreling down on the Galveston/Houston area at 8am this morning, from the Stormpulse hurricane watch website. Windspeed 105mph.
Here's the dramatic warning issued for Galveston residents. This time the authorities aren't taking any chances they won't be taken seriously. Sorry about the all-caps, I guess they're appropriate when you're screaming at people to get the @%#& out or die.
ALL NEIGHBORHOODS…AND POSSIBLY ENTIRE COASTAL COMMUNITIES… WILL BE INUNDATED DURING THE PERIOD OF PEAK STORM TIDE. PERSONS NOT HEEDING EVACUATION ORDERS IN SINGLE FAMILY ONE OR TWO STORY HOMES WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH. MANY RESIDENCES OF AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION DIRECTLY ON THE COAST WILL BE DESTROYED. WIDESPREAD AND DEVASTATING PERSONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE IS LIKELY ELSEWHERE. VEHICLES LEFT BEHIND WILL LIKELY BE SWEPT AWAY. NUMEROUS ROADS WILL BE SWAMPED…SOME MAY BE WASHED AWAY BY THE WATER. ENTIRE FLOOD PRONE COASTAL COMMUNITIES WILL BE CUTOFF. WATER LEVELS MAY EXCEED 9 FEET FOR MORE THAN A MILE INLAND. COASTAL RESIDENTS IN MULTI-STORY FACILITIES RISK BEING CUTOFF. CONDITIONS WILL BE WORSENED BY BATTERING WAVES. SUCH WAVES WILL EXACERBATE PROPERTY DAMAGE…WITH MASSIVE DESTRUCTION OF HOMES…INCLUDING THOSE OF BLOCK CONSTRUCTION. DAMAGE FROM BEACH EROSION COULD TAKE YEARS TO REPAIR.But it's not working as well as hoped. The last news report I saw said 58% of Galveston residents were making no effort to evacuate. The Galveston webcams were all down when I tried to get a look at current conditions, and the storm's not even expected until this afternoon. Maybe the internet people have all skedaddled.
I visited Galveston when I was little and was swept away by the looks of the place...the briney smell of the air, the carnival atmosphere and funky worldweary sophistication. The most popular tune that year, "How High the Moon." The town was already wiped out once, in 1900, by a hurricane. These days, it's casinoville, a magnet for seedy characters, users, losers and folks with vague get-rich-quick dreams. Whoever they are, I hope they get out in time.