Therefore, for this weekends video is Chingo Bling’s “Like This N Like That” because in his lyrics he mentions how Latinos were used to clean up Katrina, but this time around it is Ike. This is to you mi gente who seem to be blamed for everything under the sun. However, like I said, at the end of the day, it is the immigrant community who will be cleaning up after Ike and as Texano78704 mentioned in my comment section:

Every morning this week they have been lining up outside the Chase Tower in downtown Houston for clean up detail. Didn’t see anyone protesting against them…

The potential impact of a Latino voting bloc is particularly high this election season, especially here in Texas. I urge todo mi gente here in Texas to go out and register to vote, lets show that we can change Texas blue.

Chingo Bling – Like This N Like That

Click here to view the embedded video.

According to the Houston Chronicle:

In a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission CenterPoint said “the total cost for that restoration is currently estimated to be in the range of $350 million to $500 million, but that estimate is preliminary at this time …”

CenterPoint CEO David McClanahan said in a press conference this afternoon that will most likely translate to a per customer monthly fee increase of between $1 and $2.

This would cover the costs for the extra manpower (i.e. the 8,000 outside workers brought in to shore up CenterPoint’s existing crews) and supplies like replacement poles, lines and transformers.

According to the filing, CenterPoint does not insure it’s “poles, towers, wires, street lights and the pole mounted equipment that comprise the transmission and distribution facilities.” My question is, why not?

We don’t have to worry right now, CenterPoint will have to have the approval of the Public Utility Commission, the fact is, the PUC creates an illusion that it’s mission is to protect to the consumers it services.

After Hurricane Rita hit, the PUC recommended that the electric companies take aggressive steps that could avoid all this headache. In another article in the Houston Chronicle, it was reported that the PUC had recommended that the power companies come up with an “aggressive tree-trimming programs and major upgrades, including replacing wooden electric polls with metal or concrete.”

However, the powers that be had it’s way and nothing was done, which three years later, 2.2 million people had to pay the price.

Utilities fought the measures on the grounds that upgrading the distribution system would cost far more than repairing it after a storm. The PUC in August ordered a cost-benefit analysis of only one recommendation: moving electric substations out of flood zones.

If last month PUC meeting is any indication which side they will take, it will be CenterPoint who will come out on top, just like Entergy Texas did in 2005, and not the consumers who they claim they are serving.

As the power companies take their time restoring electricity, I wonder if anyone has noticed how Houston is serviced by one power company, CenterPoint, that furnishes electricity to the area. Even though I signed up with a different electric provider, I am still at the mercy of CenterPoint because they are the local grid operator, which handles and services the electric grid. This is a result of the deregulation of electric services in Texas. Since CenterPoint controls the grid, they are responsible for all power failures.

As of this writing, of the total 2.2 million who lost power on Saturday, 1.3 million are still without power. Not only that, I and my entire apartment complex still don’t have water, despite Mayor Bill White’s assurance that water pressure is back to normal levels. I have mostly been eating out so I could avoid a build up of dirty dishes, however, laundry is piling up, and I am beginning to run out of water I stored in my bathtub for flushing my toilet. [Blogger's Note: 9/22/08 - I now have water.]

This is not the first hurricane I have been through a hurricane. In fact I did go through Hurricane Alicia. I also went through several tropical storms. This also not the first time I actually blogged a major hurricane. In 2005, I did the same thing with Hurricane Rita. There was something about Ike that made this one different than the previous ones I went through.

One day before Ike made its presence felt, on Sept 11, Harris County and City of Houston officials told people who weren’t living in Zone A & B of the evacuation zone to ride this out. This was done so the city would repeat the same mistakes three years ago and the steps New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin took with Gustav.

It is hard for people who live outside the Texas Gulf Coast to fully understand why so many decided to stay and ride out the storm. For some, the Rita evacuation process that took place three years ago is still fresh in people’s minds. When Rita was predicted to hit Galveston and Houston, more than 3 million people hit the roads almost simultaneously. When it was our turn to leave, it was being reported that people were stopped in traffic for hours in the Texas heat, many ran out of fuel waiting to get out, and there were rumors of traffic accidents. The gridlock was so bad, there was a fear if Rita did come in at a certain angle, it would have been a “death trap” if you were stranded on the road. As fellow Houstonian and blogamigo DP put it, “that was an experience I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.” I don’t except people to “get it” because it is something one has to personally experience to see why some people decided not to leave.

When Ike finally arrived Saturday morning, the National Hurricane Center reported that the hurricane maintained it’s 110mph wind speed, therefore classifying it as a strong category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, 1 mph shy of becoming a major category 3 (winds 111-130 mph). In other words, Hurricane Ike was a borderline Category 2/3.

I would be lying if I said Ike didn’t have an impact on me. Recently, I seem to have trouble concentrating, my sleep patterns is a bit off, my apatite has decreased, and for the past couple of days I have been reminiscing about the roaring wind and rain of that night. I hate to say it, but it seemed like it went on for hours with no end in sight. I think I only got 2 hours of sleep. During the storm, I noticed something very eerie outside my window, the natural light that normally enters through the window, there were periods when the light would disappear right before my eyes, as somebody put a was putting a cover over the apartment complex because the room would suddenly become pitch black. I found some accounts of others reporting the same thing. Those who survived the storm in Galveston also noticed the same phenomenon. Nanc, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “it turned completely black, you couldn’t see five feet in front of you.”

As the southern eyewall approached, that is when things really started rocking. A storm chaser noted that the “southern eyewall was very similar to Katrina in duration and relentlessness.” Around 5:30 AM, the winds began pounding my apartment so hard I was sure that the next massive gust would implode my sliding glass door or my bedroom window. Because the rain fall sideways during a hurricane, the pounding of the blistering rain against my sliding glass door sounded like someone got a handful of pebbles and threw it at my door non-stop. Throughout the night, I hunkered down in my walk-in closet that was located inside the bathroom where the wall muffled the frightening sound, however, Ike made sure it’s presence was still felt. As I huddled on the floor with my dogs, I felt the apartment sway back and forth a couple of times, which brought about flashbacks of the first time I experienced an earthquake in Los Angeles.

I do have to admit, I and my family were lucky. Despite the rocking, there was no damage to my apartment, however, there were some within my apartment complex weren’t so lucky. Throughout the week, it was obvious that the people who lived on the bottom floor or in the mid-rise part of the complex were has rain enter as they were drying their towels outside. One tenant told me their entire ceiling was filled with water. As for my parents’ condo, they did sustain some minor flooding.

I think in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there has been an unfair comparison between the tragedies Katrina left and the one left by other storms. In today’s post-Katrina coverage, if damage pales in comparison to Katrina, in the eyes the national media, it’s not going to be seen as a “big deal.” What people and the media have to keep in mind, Houston isn’t dependent on vulnerable levees or below sea level.

However, damage from the storm was extensive. Thousands of homes and government buildings flooded, roads were washed out, power lines were down and parts of trees and roofs were everywhere. Highways were full of debris, shredded billboards and cars stalled in high water.

It will take several months and millions of dollars to replace the glass in Houston’s skyscrapers that was shattered by Hurricane Ike. Some of the city’s big corporations did not open their offices until Tuesday because the building sustained water damage.

The city’s theater district was flooded and shards of glass blown out of downtown skyscrapers littered the streets. Ike’s winds ripped off windows on Chevron Corp’s two main towers at 1500 Louisiana and 1400 Smith. All windows on one side of Chase JP Morgan were blown out. The retractable roof of the newly constructed Reliant Stadium was damaged by Ike. HoustonPBS sustained experienced extensive damage to the section of their roof which covers the TV studios and set storage during Hurricane Ike. The damage downtown was comparable to Hurricane Alicia in 1983.

As of this writing, the Houston Independent School District just announced that more than half of their schools are unable to open next week because damage sustain by the Hurricane. On top of that, they will also take in all the students from Galveston Independent School District as the City of Galveston begins the rebuilding process.

The situation in Galveston and the adjacent Bolivar peninsular is more serious. The visible evidence is dramatic enough: parts of Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula are reduced to matchsticks because the stilted homes were ripped from their pilings.

Even though more than 2 million residents in Texas and Louisiana heeded evacuation orders, it is estimated that between 90,000 and 140,000 ignored evacuation orders and decided to ride out the storm. While not all those who chose not to evacuate were put in harm’s way, federal officials reported that 2,000 people were rescued – almost 400 by air – in 2,500 search and rescue missions. However, there are some who suffered greatly.

In the beginning there was constant coverage of the aftermath, however, the fate of Bolivar remained unknown. If houses are destroyed and people were there, where are they? What we do know is that the death toll in Texas from Hurricane Ike stands at 23.

Many local and online news sources have gone either silent regarding the casualties and deaths from the devastation the hurricane inflicted on Galveston. Despite an occasional glimpse of the devastation it left behind…

the full extent of damage wrought by Hurricane Ike still isn’t known.

Unfortunately, the exact number of people who died as the result of Hurricane Ike is anybody’s guess, and most likely it will take weeks and months to get an answer to that question. Sadly, Galveston authorities are now conceding that the waters of Galveston Bay and nearshore waters could have washed them out to the Gulf, which apparently happened to one woman on the peninsula.

In the midst of the presidential election, one would wonder if the blackout is part of a concerted effort by the corporate media and political elites to trivialize the disaster so those outside the impacted areas won’t ask the vital questions.

In Part II I how FEMA is slowly turning Houston and Galveston and the surrounding area into another New Orleans as the Texas GOP plays with peoples lives.

We have been bombarded with 24/7 coverage of Hurricane Ike and the road the recovery, with little coverage of anything else, such as the current economic crises this country is facing, the recent melt down of the stock market and the non-Ike related pending massive wave of foreclosure.

It seems like the immigration issue is rearing its ugly head again in the presidential campaign. On Wednesday, presidential hopeful Barack Obama released a new ad that ties John McCain to Rush Limbaugh.

Naturally, McCain and Limbaugh were quick to respond. However, with the extensive damage Ike left in the Houston/Galveston and surrounding areas hit by the hurricane, McCain must once again walk a fine line, especially as this presidential campaign escalates towards the November 4 election.

For the undocumented and living here in Houston and Galveston area, they will be hit twice and will have it even a harder time than other impoverished residents surviving after the hurricane, since they are not allowed to ask for aid. Yet, cautiously, they find ways to survive. Many of them gather on street corners here in storm-battered Houston, ready for the jobs they know will come their way, sweeping up broken glass, clearing downed trees and debris from city streets, and repairing damaged buildings.

“They don’t have resources and they don’t have legal status, and we are concerned that they might not … have water or electricity,” said Fernando Garcia, the director of the Border Network for Human Rights, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“People are afraid to reach out for help as they don’t know if immigration (police) will detain them or not,” he said.

Laborers are needed everywhere from Houston, to Galveston Island, to the rural areas of East Texas to help clear out debris and rebuild. Even though they will get nothing for their services rendered because undocumented immigrants cannot get temporary homes, subsidies, Social Security checks or mail delivery promised to legal residents displaced by Ike, there are groups like Catholic Charities and Casa Juan Diego who go out of their way will help the undocumented immigrants with shelter and cash. But the intense climate of fear and language barriers are even making these services hard to access.

McCain is expected to win Texas, he will need the votes from those who live in the areas hit hard this hurricane season, which includes heavily red East Texas. Despite the nationwide clamor against illegal immigration, he might want to reevaluate his stance on the immigration issue if he wants to pull off a win here in Texas.

They say nothing builds solidarity like a catastrophe because it is during these trying times that makes us look around and appreciate want it means to be part of a “community.” During these times, you can see how hardship is bringing out the best in Houston, as neighbors assist neighbors and friendships are being forged among those who may would have never spoken to if the situation were different. The sense of “community” goes beyond neighborhood blocks, it can spread beyond city limits to neighboring counties who are also affecting by the same event. It is in following the very worst and most widespread of disasters, that we learn to appreciate the community of humankind.

The GOP’s plan to make disaster relief a political opportunity backfired on them. The political reality is, Texas is very unique and is nothing like New Orleans where there was a major demographic shift. Detaining and deporting the person who helped rebuild the city you call home is nothing more but adding insult to injury. If the Democrats play their cards right and a visit by Barack Obama and Joe Biden to the hardest hit areas, Texas can and will turn blue this November.

I will be back on shortly, I will plan to take a short nap, since I didn’t really sleep last night.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital requests that all Recovery Team employees come to the hospital as soon as safely possible to help relieve those who have ridden out Hurricane Ike. All Recovery Team employees must report to the hospital by 7 a.m. Sunday. Employees need to call 832-355-2647 for details.

Port of Houston Authority reports minor damage. All vessels were docked at its terminals excepted for one. The Rickmars Seoul marine vessel broke loose when Ike made landfall. Last night, I had heard that nearby tugboat were about to secure it quickly before it would have taken down the 610 bridge.

National Guard rescues Crystal Beach residents. Carl Thompson, 12-year homeowner and former tugboat owner, “There is no more Crystal Beach. We flew over it in the helicopter. It’s nothing more than pick-up sticks. Our house is gone.”

Downtown Houston closed for cleanup and assessment of storm damage. Only authorized personnel with a critical need to be in the area will be allowed to enter. Unauthorized persons should not attempt to enter downtown.

As of 8 PM CenterPoint Energy had restored power to 112,000 customers, primarily in the western portions of its service territory. Like I said, I am one of the lucky ones. My father is here with me because he still does not have power.

East Houston Medical Center, in Houston’s predominately Hispanic East End is will be shut down for two to three months. Patients had been evacuated Friday afternoon because hospital officials knew that nearby Greens Bayou has a history of flooding at the facility in the 13100 block of the East Freeway and the surrounding area. The Houston East End should have been on evacuation list because this area floods when rains hard.

In Galveston County, about 23,000 island residents are thought to have ignored the evacuation call. No fatality estimates have been available. It could take days to search flooded homes to assess the full impact of the storm.

Homes and a warehouse in Galveston burned unattended during the height of Ike’s fury; 17 of them collapsed because crews couldn’t get to them. There was no water or electricity on the island, and the main hospital, the University of Texas Medical Branch, flew critically ill patients to other medical center.

In Southwest Louisiana, Ike’s surge of water penetrated some 30 miles inland, flooding thousands of homes, breaching levees and soaking areas still recovering from Hurricane Gustav.

In Houston, power has been restored to a major water pumping station. Mayor Bill White assures us that tap water could be clean enough to drink as early as noon Monday.

First Galveston casualty – a woman with a bad heart died when a generator powering her oxygen equipment failed.

Rescue teams with city of Galveston said they have helped 200 people in the last few days escape their flooded homes.

Sunday – 9/14/08: City is now under mandatory curfew – lockdown – from 9:00PM to 6:00PM from now through Sunday. We are today for our safety since people are leaving their houses. However, here is the deal, if you don’t have a battery operated radio or televisions, you only can listen to it until your battery gives out. So, how in the hell do you expect 1.99 million households without power to get that information. It amazes me how indignant our media and city officials are getting when they see people out and about.

This is a photo of my apartment complex, even there, there is partial restoration of power.

I just came back from my local grocery store, you can tell people are desperate for certain items. The biggest demand is for ice and water. Ice to get keep their meats from spoiling. Much needed water and charcoal so people can cook out. When I left the store, a line began to form outside, the store began to allow only a few people at the time.

If you know anybody from the Southeast side of Houston can you tell me what the situation is like over there. Certain grocery stores are opening and I would like to know what is going on.

When I was coming back, I got the chance to drive around, it is was strange. There are trees everywhere – in the middle of the road, on power lines, on top of houses. It was awful. Carports are toppled, several buildings look like mini bombs went off. At a local park, trees everywhere where snapped like toothpicks.

From Brazoria County into Louisiana, 5 million people are without power, I thank God I am one of the lucky ones who got it. If you have power, please conserve your power because there are stories of people with power sharing it with their neighbors.

People who have power are reading this blog, please, please, stay off the highway you are doing more harm than good. I understand you want to look, I do too, but doing that, we are hindering truck drivers who are bringing in the supplies into Houston and Galveston.

Galveston, TX – Most structures and homes on the island have been damaged by the storm, but are still standing. Most of the island was covered by floodwaters. Citizens are asked to remain where they are until the City can restore power, water, and gas. Galveston police and the National Guard are patrolling streets to offer aid and protect property. Cell phone service should be restored sometime today.

So far, 8 deaths have been blamed on Hurricane Ike, according to the Associated Press. 5 were in Texas, 2 in Louisiana and 1 in Arkansas.

U.S. Rep. John Culberson, a Republican from Houston, blasted FEMA because first responders at two staging areas did not have food and water.

“It’s just outrageous,” Culberson said, calling on residents near those sites to share food and water with the emergency crews. “I think it’s inexcusable. … I was horrified to discover that our first responders needed our help.”

Power has finally gone out! Repeat my power has finally gone out! I am ok. I am about to post this last message because I have cable internet and it seems I am still able to have internet service. Thank you Comcast.
——
Note: electricity is going out quickly throughout the city. In fact, part of the apartment complex where I live have lost power, I am ok, however, I am not sure how much time mother nature will give me to blog. For those of you who are concern for my safety, you noticed I am not updating this blog, it is most likely I lost power. If and when power is restored I will let you know I am ok and I have told some people I will call to let them know if I am ok.

Beginning a new tread. It is time to be scared, very scared. Ike has decided to stall before it decides to have fun with us. We are now experiencing tropical storm winds. Here is another short clip I took, an hour after I took the first one. You can tell, Ike is letting us know it is out there.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I was just heard there are reports that there are 18 people trapped on the roofs in Galveston.

Unfortunately, I do have have sad news. The first victim of Ike has been reported. He is a ten year old boy who could not get out of the way of a falling tree. The boy’s older brother tried to pull him away, but the tree hit him in the head. The boy was taken to Tomball Regional Hospital, where he died.

More photos – The first two pictures is located is Houston’s Manchester area which is prone to flooding because it very close to the Houston Ship Channel.

This is a picture is taken from Seabrook, TX, which is very close to the coast.

part of my apartment complex lost power, when I called my father to let him know, she saw three transformers blow right in front of his eyes. Centerpoint is reporting that 105,000 are without electricity.

My friend RoB from Houston IndyMedia took some photos from the Montrose area which is not far from where I live and from around the Houston area.

He and his girlfriend are “hunkering down” in the Bellaire to wait out Hurricane Ike. I just got found out from my father the whole Bellaire area just lost power.

Just heard that Galveston is now up in flames. The first one started at a boat and yacht repair warehouse has been destroyed by flames because the streets were too flooded by Hurricane Ike for fire trucks to reach it. There are now house fires throughout Galveston, the fire is jumping from house to house and there is nothing the fire fighters can do.

It is 8:42 PM, CenterPoint Energy is reporting 150,000 customers are now without electricity this evening.

Hurricane Ike, a colossal storm nearly as big as Texas itself. This is the image taken from NOAA via Getty Images.

Hurricane Ike is about 600 miles across, as big as Texas itself. Towering waves have been crashing over the 17-foot-high Galveston seawall, and floodwaters are rising in low-lying areas.

As of 8 PM Ike is about 70 miles southeast of Galveston, moving at 13 miles-an-hour. It’s close to a Category 3 storm with winds of 110 miles-per-hour, and is expected to strengthen by the time the eye hits land.

As of 9 PM, CenterPoint Energy is reporting about 300,000 customers are now without electricity this evening.

Levees breached, homes flood as Ike passes coastal Cameron Parish, Louisiana. About 1,000 homes and business flooded and is expected to rise.

It is 10:30 – this is the calm before the storm.

The places that are flooding in Houston -
Southeast Harris County flooding only related to storm surge flooding. No rain fall flooding reported yet.
Flooding in progress in and around Clear Lake
Near bank full conditions along Clear Creek east of Bay Area Blvd
Near bank full conditions along Greens Bayou south of Interstate 10
Little Vince Bayou in Pasadena is one third full at the lower end
Brays Bayou at Lawndale and eastward is half full
Flooding along Houston Ship Channel, San Jacinto River and San Jacinto River Tributaries

Second victim, a 19-year-old Corpus Christi man drowned from the storm surge.

I am going to try to get some z’s before the worse happens. You can tell Ike is making sure we know it is coming. If I still have power, I will let you know if everything is ok and what is happening.

New post on Ike’s aftermath.

The city and county officials have asked us to stay in place. My fear, officials here are responding to the criticism on how LA and New Orleans responded to Gustav. However, as each new report comes in, it turns out to be for the worse, and is catching people caught off guard.

The official forecast for Hurricane Ike landfall is centered upon Brazoria County, near Freeport as a strong category 3 hurricane. At 4 AM today, the storm was 525 miles southeast of Galveston, moving at 9 mph on a west-northwesterly track, according to the National Weather Service. Maximum sustained winds were near 100 mph, with higher gusts. Hurricane-force winds were extending 115 miles outward from Ike’s center, the weather service reported, and tropical storm-force winds were extending 255 miles out.

Galveston officials have issued a mandatory evacuation Thursday morning for the entire Galveston Island area. That evacuation begins at noon today. A staging area is at 47th at Broadway.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett called for mandatory evacuations of low-lying areas starting at noon today. Those residents are in evacuation zones A and B, specifically ZIP codes 77058, 77059, 77062, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586 and 77598.

Houston Mayor Bill White this morning urged all employers to give their employees the day off on Friday unless their presence is essential.

To my readers who live outside the State of Texas or outside Ike’s impact zone, I do plan to monitor the situation and will update when I get new information.

Update: I just came back from the grocery store, products are flying off the shelves pretty fast. If you are reading this and live within the impact zone, I would advise you to go quickly. There is a sense of panic in the air. Lines are forming just to buy gas. I noticed two gas stations that closed because they ran out of gas.

Gov Rick Perry is make a desperate play for those who are in Ike’s path to get out now.

“My message to Texans is, in the projected impact area, finish your preparations because this is a storm that can have extraordinary impact on them, on their personal belongings,” Perry said. “It’s on its way.”

“I want to emphasize what a dangerous storm this is going to be,” he said. “The latest estimates show Ike is going to be coming to shore in the next 48 hours, packing winds in excess of 120 mph and a storm surge of 14 feet or more. And I want to emphasize the more.”

Evacuation orders have now been issued for Jefferson and Orange counties, between Houston and the Louisiana state line.

According to the National Hurricane Center, at 1:00 PM CDT Hurricane Ike is located about 440 miles of Corpus Christi and about 470 miles of Galveston Texas. If current projections of the storm’s path hold up, the area surrounding Houston would be feel the eastern or “dirty” side of the storm.

To give you an idea how big this storm is, Hurricane Ike’s storm surge is causing flooding along the Florida Panhandle and it’s closed a section of U.S. Highway 98. The highway is a major corridor running along the Gulf of Mexico.

Update 2: My observations about gas stations running out of gas is true. It is being reported that gas stations were running out of fuel as residents scurried to leave, and officials urged all residents to finish their storm preparations as soon as possible.

Mandatory evacuation orders were also issued for residents of Matagorda and Jackson Counties, some mainland communities in Galveston County, some Chambers County communities and Brazoria County – excluding Pearland and Alvin.

Hobby airport will be shutting down today at 6:30 PM and George Bush Intercontinental Airport beginning at 2 PM Friday. Southwest Airlines will suspend flight operations at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport beginning Friday at 9 AM. Continental Airlines implemented a flight schedule reduction at IAH for Friday and Saturday in anticipation of deteriorating weather conditions. Continental does not expect to conduct flights after Friday afternoon.

Travel plans can be changed online at Continental Airlines or by calling 800-525-0280.

If you are hoping you can catch a flight out, I wish you the best.

Update 3: My friends, the situation is getting grimmer by the moment. As I drove around and the long lines at gas stations, I could not help but think what it was like when we were told Hurricane Rita was aiming for us. However, Congressman Nick Lampson saves the day because he was able to get an EPA fuel waiver, which means Houston will be granted a lot more fuel to be released.

Today, the Mayor of La Porte has declared a curfew from 11:00pm until 5:00am the following morning and from 8:00pm until 5:00am the following day and continuing nightly thereafter until further order.

According to the National Hurricane Center, at 7:00 PM CDT, Hurricane Ike was located about 475 miles of Corpus Christi and about 370 miles of Galveston. Ike is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 275 miles.

In other words, Ike is steering directly for Houston. Forecasters predict that the storm will likely to come ashore as a Category 3, with winds up to 130 mph. The National Hurricane Center foresees a 20-foot surge for a large part of Texas. Hurricane center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen says Ike’s waves could be 50 feet tall, and some computer models have waves topping out at 70 feet.

Here is an updated list of the towns under mandatory evacuation: Galveston Island, Kemah, Tiki Island, Bayou Vista, Omega Bay in La Marque, Bolivar Peninsula, San Leon, Bacliff, Freddiesville, Some Chambers County, Brazoria County – excluding Pearland and Alvin, People in low-lying areas of Dickinson Bayou, Tropical Gardens, the country club area, Bayou Chantilly and any homes that front Dickinson Bayou, Harris County areas in ZIP code areas: 77058, 77059, 77062, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586 and 77598, Matagorda County, Jackson County, Orange County, Parts of San Patricio County.

If you know anybody who lives in these areas, please them to seek shelter. This is a big storm and will wreak havoc.

Update 4: Great news! Ike might not hit Houston as a Cat 3, but a weak Cat 2 – strong Cat 1. We are still not out of the woods. According to the National Hurricane Center, at 10:00 PM CDT report, “Some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours or so…and Ike could become a major hurricane before reaching the coast.”

I will update tomorrow.

Update 5: Even early this morning, nearly a full day before landfall, it appears, Houston/Galveston area will see Hurricane Ike’s awesome power. The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center’s 4 a.m. advisory, little has changed other than increasing landfall intensity from 110 mph to 115 mph, at landfall. Being reported by all the news agencies, wind was gusty along Galveston’s Seawall Boulevard.

In front of the St. Luis Hotel, waves were breaking just above the city’s 17-feet-tall protective seawall. At 69th Street and Seawall, The spray from breaking waves was as high as the top of the traffic signals while water was covering several lanes of the west end of 69th.

Latest happenings. Elderly evacuees of Goose Creek Rehab Center in Baytown found themselves spending the night on school buses sent to take them to safety. Many who are unable to walk on their own, waiting aboard the buses to be taken to safety.

News conference at 8 AM today. Harris County Judge Emmett and Houston Mayor Bill White will provide an update on current conditions, recommendations and evacuation orders related to Hurricane Ike.

Update 6: At 10 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center is reporting that the center Ike was located about 295 miles east of Corpus Christi and about 320 miles southeast of Galveston. Its maximum sustained winds increased to 105 mph and was moving west-northwest near 12 mph. Feeder bands have moved into Louisiana early Friday and are expected to be here by noon. Galveston has been experiencing flooding in some areas.

Residents living on the coast beyond a seawall are sure to “face certain death” if they fail to evacuate. Here are some pics from Surfside Beach as Hurricane Ike approaches, courtesy of the Houston Chronicle. Click to enlarge

Here are some pics from the seawall in Galveston as Hurricane Ike approaches, courtesy of the Houston Chronicle. Click to enlarge

Other happenings: In Mississippi all of U.S. 90 in Harrison County is closed due to what Harrison County Emergency Management officials are calling treacherous conditions. The National Weather Service in Slidell has advised Harrison County officials to expect to see the waters continue to rise as the normal tide comes in today and Saturday.

Update 7: The coast guard has received over 150 calls to to rescue people from the coast….only 22 have been rescued and they are about to end the rescue effort. Most of Surfside Beach was submerged by mid-morning, with waters topping mailboxes and stop signs. CNN just reported that 37,000 may need to be rescued after Hurricane Ike

Homes, sitting atop 10-foot-plus stilts, already had water lapping at their legs, giving the homes the appearance of rising straight up from the water. Storm surge brought churning Gulf waters into the streets and yards, making the ocean and the land one in the same.

The latest report is that the storm is now about 165 miles southeast of there, moving to the west-northwest at near 12 miles an hour. Forecasters say it could be a Category 3 storm with winds of at least 111 miles an hour before the eye comes ashore.

Waves as tall as 15 feet are already hitting the city, and flooding is already being reported in other coastal towns along the Texas and Louisiana coast. Tides already are 3 to 5 feet above normal along the Texas coast.

A tropical storm wind warning is in effect for Bastrop, Lee, Fayette, Gonzales, DeWitt and Lavaca counties for this evening through Saturday afternoon.

Two cities in Fort Bend County have issued curfews. Missouri City mayor Allen Owen announced the city’s curfew begins at sunset today and ends at sunrise Monday.

Update 8: Galveston Island already feeling Ike’s wrath. The National Weather Service warned residents of smaller structures on Galveston they could “face certain death” if they ignored an order to evacuate; most had complied, along with hundreds of thousands of fellow Texans in counties up and down the coastline.

In Surfside Beach, a small coastal town of about 805, water was already knee-deep in the streets and skies were growing increasingly dark early Friday afternoon. Police were going around in a dump trucks trying to get holdouts to evacuate while there was still time.

East area bayous and rivers are high. KTRK reported that several places close to Greens Bayou is completely under water already. Greens Bayou is extremely high & about to be out of its banks. A residents KTRK that San Jacinto River/Interstate 10 area & the river is very high already.

Entergy outages begin: Entergy, which provides electricity transmission for parts of East Texas and several communities near Houston, including the Bolivar Peninsula, have started and are increasing rapidly.

U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army aborted a rescue mission Friday to save the 22 crew members on a Cypriot freighter loaded with petroleum coke that was floating helplessly 90 miles southeast of Galveston as Hurricane Ike approached.

Quintana Beach, a small island near Freeport on the west side of the mouth of the Brazos river, is entirely under water, with ocean surge reaching all the way up to the FM 1495 bridge. Freeport police said, two houses collapsed from the encroaching flood waters within minutes of each other.

Emergency workers were called to action to rescue dozens of people stranded in high water on High Island. The flooded area is located along Texas 124 just across the Chambers County line in Galveston County. “These people had ignored the evacuation order,” said Chambers County emergency management director Ryan Holzaepfel, whose county assisted in the rescues. “Some were hanging from telephone poles, searching for any high ground that they could find.”

On a personal level, my dogs are beginning to notice something is wrong. It is only a couple of hours until the first effects will begin to be felt here. The winds have picked up, more than it was this morning.

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They also fear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol will be checking for immigration status at checkpoints along the way, even though ICE has already promised that Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection will not people on their status. The truth is, with the increase in immigration crackdowns, many of them feel ICE probably had their fingers crossed when they made that statement.

Immigrants have reason to be skeptical of ICE’s promises. It was evident Michael Chertoff, Director of Homeland Security Secretary, followed through on his threat of separating the undocumented from the general population when Hurricane Dolly hit South Texas. It is also a little known fact that the Rio Grande Valley is the only area in the US where the Border Patrol is authorized to check the immigration status during hurricane evacuations.

This is not the first undocumented immigrants have opted to stay behind. Just as mandatory evacuations began across the Gulf Coast, immigrants were also refusing to leave. “Latinos are fearful that by being taken to shelters they will be turned over to immigration officials,” Lucas Diaz told the Agence France-Presse. “They don’t trust. Often people along the way, like shelter workers, take to being ICE agents and turn people in.”

Many advocates complained they were not given enough time to prepare immigrant communities once the DHS assured for safe passage of immigrant workers. It was also reported that day laborers were complaining they were put on hold for more than 30 minutes before getting connected with a Spanish-speaking operator. Additionally, many undocumented immigrants became wary when they realized they would be asked to register at evacuation points for tracking purposes.

Today, state prison officials have already ordered mandatory evacuation for the prisons in South Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle. However, Chertoff, nor Julie Myers, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE, have yet to announce if Raymondville detainees will be evacuated. One has to wonder if last weeks quick actions in Louisiana by Chertoff was nothing more than Republican political posturing.

In an entry in the DHS’ Leadership Journal (DHS’ blog) Chertoff wrote:

“FEMA has pre-positioned assets and personnel in strategic locations and is poised to move in as soon as it’s safe to assist with response and recovery operations. Other DHS personnel including ICE, CBP, TSA and Coast Guard teams have been deployed to assist with evacuations and are standing by to begin search and rescue operations as needed. Additional federal partners, including the Department of Defense and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have also deployed assets and personnel to the region and are preparing for response activities.”

With forecasts predicting that Ike will gain even more power in the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters and becoming a Category 4 before making landfall this weekend, the Rio Grande Valley is still recovering from Hurricane Dolly. As Dolly left the area underwater, damaging hundreds of homes but killing no one, the window-less Kevlar tents that make up the detention center in Raymondville, TX did sustain damage, which proved that the detention center is unable to withstand Hurricane-like conditions.

Last week, the Brownsville Herald reported that Dolly had damaged the doomed roofs of Management and Training Corporation’s “Tent City” detention detention center in Raymondville, TX. According to the article:

Rain from the Category 2 hurricane drenched the domes while the storm’s 100-mph winds shot debris into some walls, said Bill Bryan, a consultant who oversaw development of the $111 million project that includes 10 domes and a 1,000-bed building.

The damage has prevented officials from returning detainees to the camp, so the inmate count has plunged from about 1,943 before the hurricane to a low of 685, county records show.
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Dolly damaged nine of the detention center’s 10 domes, Bryan said.

The hurricane’s rains leaked into the domes through air conditioning vents, he said.

“We had some water inside the facility,” Bryan said. “That’s probably the focus of concerns.”

According to Nina Pruneda, spokeswoman for ICE, the detention center’s inmate count stood at 897.

The valley’s residents are among those least equipped to handle hurricane flooding. It is one of the poorest parts of the US, where approximately 400,000 Texans live in colonias. Along muddy roads invisible from the highway, some families crowd into battered trailers patched with plywood in communities that still lack of sewer systems and paved streets where ordinary rainstorm can fill yards with disease-ridden sewage from flooded septic tanks.

Four major storms, two of them hurricanes, have already have struck the Caribbean, killing more than 600 people and leaving hundreds of thousands desperate for food, clean water and shelter in the impoverished country of Haiti. Prior to entering the Gulf of Mexico, Ike has killed at least 60 people in the Caribbean and wrecked havoc in Cuba. Across Haiti, 800,000 people — almost half of them children — were in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva.

I am writing this because of the fury and dread I feel this hurricane might bring to my state. I have been blogging about the immigration issue ever since Rep Jim Sensenbrenner tired to fast track his bill through Congress. Since then, I have seen America’s humanity slowly transform this country into a haven for bigotry, injustice, greed, discrimination, jingoism, violence, hypocrisy, intolerance and fanatical Puritanism deceptively cloaked in the garments of conservatism.

The current situation is forcing people to take drastic measures to either save themselves or their family, such as Elvira Arellano and Flor Crisóstomo choosing to take sanctuary in a church. ICE’s “round ‘em up” tactics has gone too far. Not only are they splitting families and tearing communities apart, they are now forcing people to choose between possible drowning and imprisonment and deportation.

One can only image the devastation Ike will bring to these communities.

And just my luck too …. maybe. As I mentioned in my last post, by the time I arrived in Austin, I had decided not to go to Houston because nearly 1 million Gulf Coast residents were fleeing the path of Hurricane Gustava. As a result, all major interstates leading into Houston from Louisiana was already bumper-to-bumper. So it was easier to avoid it all and just go back home the next weekend. Although New Orleans dodged the bullet as Gustav weakened and drifted west. It seems the press were more interested in covering the three ring circus called the Republican National Convention and totally made it seem everything ran very smoothly down in New Orleans.

It is funny, while I was in Denver, my parents kept me abreast of the approaching storm. I had heard rumors here and there that the Republicans were a bit worried if “the mother of all storms” did hit New Orleans. And how can you blame them.

It is bad enough Senator John McCain had to sell his soul to the Bush family’s to get their blessing and endorsement after enduring an onslaught of “subterranean assaults on [his] reputation” by the Bush-Rove cabal.

It looks like Houston is under the gun again. On Monday, forecasters predicted that the warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico could transform Hurricane Ike into a major hurricane heading towards Houston. The five-day forecast from the National Hurricane Center predicts that Hurricane Ike would hit Houston on Saturday morning, as a Category 3 storm, with winds of 111 miles to 130 miles an hour.

To get an idea what I was about to face, when Ike hit Cuba, some 800,000 people have been evacuated the Turks and Caicos islands. Ike killed 61 people in Haiti and reportedly damaged 80% of homes on the main Turks and Caicos islands.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, endured the onslaught of four tropical storms in a three week period. Heavy rains and flooding sparked by the outer bands of the storm killed at least 61 people in Cabaret, to the north of the capital Port-au-Prince. Source: The New York Times

Before I went to bed, it looked it looked like we dodged another bullet. However, we could have gotten the dirty side of Ike.

As of this morning, the National Hurricane Center said Ike will still go towards the warm waters late this afternoon or this evening and strengthen but will suddenly turn South and hit South Texas.

Update: Officials in Brazoria County, Texas, have issued some evacuation orders as Hurricane Ike moves toward the Gulf Coast. A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for 10 a.m. Wednesday for residents just south of Houston. Emergency officials also are getting ready to evacuate 1 million people from the Rio Grande Valley. They’ve lined up nearly 1,000 buses in case they’re needed.

ICE states they won’t be checking for people’s immigration status at evacuation loading zones or at the checkpoints. However, I wonder if they had their fingers crossed when they made they that statement.

In May, Director of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff’ said:

“In the event of an emergency, and the need for an evacuation, priority No. 1 by a country mile is the safe evacuation of people who are leaving the danger zone. Instructions to the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection are clear. They are to do nothing to impede a safe and speedy evacuation of a danger zone.”

He obviously followed through on his threat of separating the undocumented from the general population in late July when Hurricane Dolly hit South Texas. Prior to Dolly’s arrival, no mandatory evacuation was ordered, which allowed the Border Patrol to keep its checkpoints open.

Galveston officials are expected to urge a voluntary evacuation for those living in the low-lying western end of the island, where high tides, rain and large waves could cause serious flooding.

Update 2: Mandatory evacuations have been issued in the following Harris County ZIP codes beginning at noon Thursday: 77058, 77059, 77062, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586, and 77598

Residents with special needs in the ZIP codes under a mandatory evacuation who have not registered with the county for assistance can get help by calling 311.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in the following areas: Brazoria County – all unincorporated areas, beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday; Chambers County – low-lying areas, beginning 10 a.m. Thursday; Matagorda County – all areas south of Highway 35 except Bay City and Van Vleck; Ashby-Buckeye; Bacliff – beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday; Blessing; Bolivar Peninsula – beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday; Cedar Lane; Chinquapin; Collegeport; El Maton; Freddiesville – beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday; Galveston – West End only, beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday; Jamaica Beach – beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday; Matagorda; Omega Bay – beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday; Palacious; San Leon – beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday; Sargent; Tidewater Oaks; Tres Palacious Oaks; and Wadsworth

Voluntary evacuations have been issued in the following areas: # Matagorda County – north of Highway 35; Jackson County; Bay City; Bayou Vista; Baytown; Clear Lake Shores; Dickinson; Galveston Island; Kemah; La Marque; Manvel; Tiki Island; and Van Vleck

Live coverage and information can be found on this post.