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Galveston County Office of Emergency Management
SITUATION REPORT #4
SUBJECT: Hurricane Ike
DATE AND TIME COVERED: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 0800 through Thursday, September 11, 2008
● CURRENT SITUATION:
The forecast track for Hurricane Ike continues to shift to the north and keeps the Texas Gulf Coast in the forecast cone of error. The Galveston County Office of Emergency Management is currently monitoring the situation with activation of limited staff that began early Monday morning. At 4:00 am local time, the center of Hurricane Ike was located near latitude 25.2 N and longitude 87.6 W or 620 miles east of Brownsville Texas. Ike is moving toward the west northwest near 9 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph with higher gusts. Ike is a Category 2 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 around the eye out to a diameter of approximately 150 miles, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 230 miles. The Galveston County Emergency Operations Center is operating at a Readiness Condition 2.
The Office of Emergency Management participated in State Conference Calls at 10:30 am and 4:30 pm on Wednesday and National Weather Service Conference Calls at 10:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 am, and a County Department Head conference call at 2:00 p.m.. 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; 120+ buses are staged at the Doyle Center in Texas City
● CASUALTIES: None.
● DAMAGES: None reported at this time.
● EVACUATION: Mandatory evacuation issued for the West End of Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula, Jamaica Beach, Omega Bay, Tiki Island, and low-lying areas of Kemah, Dickinson, Clear Lake Shores, La Marque 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. The Galveston-Bolivar Ferry will close at 11:30 tonight.
● 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 will transition to Level 2, possibly Level 1 at 7:00 AM on Thursday.
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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