i just got a text message from cnn that reads: "people sheltering at ground level at Galveston Bay when Hurricane Ike hits face 'certain death' the weather service warns." uh oh...

i saw a man say he wasnt leaving because he didnt want to sit in all that traffic!!!! wtf?

Yeah I saw that on the news today, I guess it's a result of our litigious society.

/sidenote: All the ice cream at the corner store is half off. :)

My mom told me that the roads that run next to our beaches were submerged, and our dock is completely underwater from the storm surge =(

Oh yeah. they do. But usually it's mostly the tourists that leave. Some Monroe County (Keys) people take up shelter on one of my uni.'s campuses, but the building is never filled and usually I hear that it's mostly the homeless in there. Plus that is almost a different country so I didn't really think about there. How low lying are those areas? Just wondering.

They're saying that the seawall in this one area is 14 feet at it's highest, 8 at it's lowest and storm surges could be more than 20 feet. Sounds pretty serious to me.http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/flt/t4/avn-l.jpg

Amazing to me how big this thing is. The satellite image shows it's taking up almost the whole Gulf.

They showed a surfer down in Panama City FL on CNN today and the wave was huge behind him.

Ya, my mom told me that some of her friends are staying in Galveston. I have no idea why they are that stupid, but I'm praying nothing happens to them...like, you know, death!!

I wonder which one of my idiots friends that was....:D

Galveston, oh Galveston
 

The waves are already :eek:coming up over the sea wall - and it is low tide.

Please, please Galvestonians - get the hell out. Remember 1900?? (Well, no, you wouldn't PERSONALLY remember the 1900 Storm, but how can you be on the Island and not have that in your mind?) Parts of the Island have started to flood, and it's not even just the water - mud and sand has been pushed up over parts of the road by the waves. It's going to be bad for Galveston.

eta - You may not know that ALL of Galveston is NOT behind the sea wall. A large part of the island is not protected, and the hurricane is scheduled to hit during high tide. Very, very bad.

Here in Houston - it really is the calm before the storm. We feel pretty good about our preparations. Tree limbs were trimmed yesterday, picked up loose debris, we've got water, will go get ice, and we have carbolicious food supplies laid by. At this point, I'm ready for it to be over!

The seawall is 16 feet. The highest point on galveston island...20 feet.

The waves are already cresting over the seawall. I got to admit I'm getting a little nervous about this one.

I don't remember if I saw this commercial in North Carolina or Florida. They played tapes of people calling 911 and asking for help during a hurricane. The dispatchers had to tell them that the police were unable to help them. It was a PSA to let people know, if we tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. We won't be able to help you at the height of the storm.

I think the West End is already starting to flood. :( And the storm still hasn't even hit yet.

I lived in G town for 5 years and survived a few tropical storms but no hurricanes. If I were still living there at this point, I would have gotten the hell out. The island floods so easily-even the parts behind the seawall-and I saw what the flooding was like for tropical storms, and I can't even imagine how bad this is going to be. I am really really worried for them.

Some of my friends in Houston were like-forget the grocery store, I'm headed to Spec's to stock up!! :p
I'm worried about them too.

The FL Panhandle got some flooding behind this storm yesterday, and some of the roads along the Gulf of Mexico were washed over, but not washed out. Keep in mind that the FL Panhandle is 800 or so miles from where landfall is expected. This hurricane is crazy!

I have long hated Walmart.
I hate them even more today.
The Houston area has basically been told that if you are not in an area with a mandatory evacuation, stay put. So thousands of people have to buy supplies. Walmart's response to this time of need? Closing all of their stores a good 18 hours before the storm is to hit.
Booooooo Walmart. Yeaaaaah Target.

It looks eerie out now - all of the car dealerships have pulled in as many cars as they can. Restaurants are closed - those that are open are doing land office business. We are going to try and get ice at a 2:00 delivery - will send hubby wayyyyy ahead of time.

Belle, keep us posted as long as you can. We appreciate the updates since many of us have friends near Houston.