Calm before the storm
The Bolivar Peninsula is inundated killing several people trapped there.
Port Arthur, Texas barely escapes inundation.
Model of actual surge from Hurricane Ike
Projected 22.4 foot surgeThe Rice Design Alliance, the organization behind this blog, held the first of a two-part forum on Post-Hurricane Ike Planning. Eric Berger, the SciGuy of the Houston Chronicle, moderated the July 15 event, which featured some big-time scientists and engineers, the kind of people mayors and governors call when a hurricane is heading for their town. I left shaken. Their message was clear. We dodged the bullet with Ike. The period after the hurricane, as bad as it was, could have been far, far worse.
The August 19th forum will, I hope, rescue me from my sense of despair by offering design solutions. If you missed the first one and want to catch up, I suggest you take a look at the Powerpoint presentations from the event and read the online Hurricane Issue of Cite from Summer 2007. I have also uploaded the images that most affected me. One set shows the wind speed and water surface elevation over time as Hurricane Ike hit. Another predicts what areas would be hit by a stronger surge.
What are the dangers and hazards of living on the Gulf Coast?
"Hurricanes---No Two are the Same" (6.6 mb, .pptx)
Bill Read, Director, National Hurricane Center, NOAA National Weather Service
"Storm Surge Impacts" (16.2 mb, .ppt)
"Ike Wind Speed and Water Surface Elevation Series" (66.6 mb, .ppt)
Gordon Wells, Program Manager, Center for Space Research at the University of Texas, Austin
"Environmental Consequences" (225.2 mb, .ppt)
Hanadi S. Rifai, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Houston
Selections from the Ike Wind Speed and Water Surface Elevation Series
