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Galveston County Office of Emergency Management
SITUATION REPORT #3
SUBJECT: Hurricane Ike
DATE AND TIME COVERED: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 0800 through Wednesday, Tuesday, September 10, 2008
● CURRENT SITUATION:
The forecast track for Hurricane Ike continues to shift but keeps the Texas Gulf Coast in the forecast cone. 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 23.9 N and longitude 85.3 W or about 430 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Ike is moving toward the northwest near 8 mph but a west-northwest track is expected to resume later today and then to continue across the central Gulf of Mexico for the next 24 to 48 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 85 mph with higher gusts. Ike is a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Strengthening is anticipated and Ike could become a major hurricane in the central Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles. The Galveston County Emergency Operations Center is operating at a Readiness Condition 3.
The Office of Emergency Management participated in a State Conference Calls at 10:30 am and 4:30 pm on Monday and a National Weather Service Conference Call at 10:00 am on Monday. These calls will continue to be held as 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; Galveston County MOC and Operations Coordinator temporarily deployed to assist Brazoria County with bus evacuations.
● CASUALTIES: None.
● DAMAGES: None reported at this time.
● EVACUATION: Voluntary evacuation considered for West End of Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula as well as low lying areas of Tiki Island, Kemah, Dickinson, Clear Lake Shores and other low-lying areas.
● SHELTER: None at this time.
● ROADS CURRENTLY CLOSED/IMPACTED: The tide gates in Texas City are closed and will remain closed until after the threat of the hurricane passes.
● CURRENT UTILITY OUTAGES: None at this time.
● COMMENTS:
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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