Galveston County Office of Emergency Management

SITUATION REPORT #1

SUBJECT: Hurricane Ike

DATE AND TIME COVERED: Sunday, September 7, 2008 0800 through Monday, September 8, 2008 0800

● CURRENT SITUATION:

The forecast track for Hurricane Ike shows an area of uncertainty spanning most of the Texas Gulf Coast.  The Galveston County Office of Emergency Management is currently monitoring the situation with activation of limited staff beginning as early as Monday morning.  At 7:00 am local time, the center of Hurricane Ike was located near latitude 21.1 N and longitude 77.9 W or about 20 miles south of Camaguey Cuba.  Ike is moving toward the west near 14 mph and a west to west-northwest motion is expected over the next day or two.  Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 100 mph with higher gusts. Ike is a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.  Additional weakening is forecast as Ike moves over central Cuba today.  However, re-intensification is anticipated once Ike is again over warm water.  The Galveston County Emergency Operations Center is operating at a Readiness Condition 3. 

The Office of Emergency Management participated in a State Conference Call on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 pm.  These calls will continue to be held twice a day or more often, if needed throughout the event.

 All Galveston County Departments and Employees are advised to monitor this situation closely.

● AREAS AFFECTED BY THIS EVENT:  Galveston County and surrounding counties

● RESPONDING OFFICES/DEPARTMENTS, RESOURCES COMMITTED: GCOEM 

● CASUALTIES:  None.

● DAMAGES:   None reported at this time.

● EVACUATION:  None at this time. 

● SHELTER:   None at this time.

● ROADS CURRENTLY CLOSED/IMPACTED:  None at this time.

● CURRENT UTILITY OUTAGES:  None at this time.

● COMMENTS:
 
The Governor has issued a proclamation of threat of imminent disaster for 61 counties in Texas.  The Governor’s Division of Emergency Management has begun to pre-stage resources including buses in various locations along the Texas Gulf Coast. 

The Emergency Management Division is closely monitoring this situation.  Conference calls are being conducted with the Local Jurisdictions, National Weather Service, State of Texas Operations Center and our regional partners.  This Office and the Emergency Operations Center are on Level 3 with Core Staff monitoring the situation in order to prepare.

  The four (4) levels of EOC activation are:

   Level 1 (Emergency Conditions)
   Level 2 (Escalated Response Conditions)
   Level 3 (Increased Readiness Conditions)
   Level 4 (Normal Conditions)

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