Sep 12 2008
Worrying about the Gulf Coast: Ike is bigger than Illinois
With Gustav just a few days gone and Ike about to strike with massive fury, it’s hard not to worry about friends along the Gulf Coast. Parts of Louisiana are still without power and even if Ike hits Galveston as forecasted, Louisiana will get wind and spin off storm effects.
That’s right, Ike is now more than 500 miles across and taking up 40 percent of the Gulf of Mexico. Ike is larger than Illinois, the state I live in. Now, if I lived in Rhode Island or Delaware, it might not be a big deal to say that Ike is larger than my state. But Illinois is 400 miles long and 200 miles across and Ike is bigger. Ike is bigger than Michigan, Colorado, and well, just about any state you happen to live in, except Texas, Alaska and California.
I cannot wrap my mind aroung the image, no matter how often I look at the satellite pictures. I can’t begin to imagine what will happen to Houston in the next 48 hours. The concept of a 20 foot storm surge and waves that are 50 feet tall just does not work in my Midwestern mind.
What does work is the concept of traffic jams. Yesterday, a friend on the Gulf Coast said that during Hurricane Rita’s evacuation, it took her 20.5 hours to go to Austin, a city usually just 3.5 hours away. Assuming she usually drives at 60 miles an hour, Austin is about 200 miles…and during the evacuation, she made it less than 10 miles per hour… Ugh!
I may not undersxtand just how big Ike is, but I understand 10 miles an hour and not going anywhere all day long. Here’s hoping that the concept of shelter in place is a good one and that Houston rides out the storm with style and grace.
