HURRICANE SEASON SUCKS

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Hurricane Ike could make landfall near Houston

Residents in the Florida Keys breathed a sigh of relief Monday as a fierce Hurricane Ike turned west on a path away from the low-lying island chain. But Gulf Coast states watched anxiously to see if the storm was gunning for them instead.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned that, after passing into the Gulf of Mexico sometime Tuesday night, Ike could make landfall in the U.S. over the weekend in Louisiana or Texas.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry pre-declared disasters in 88 counties to aid storm preparation and put 7,500 National Guard members on standby.

More here.

And from the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Jindal says evacuation for Hurricane Ike not needed yet

The state is prepared to move forward with evacuations of areas threatened by Hurricane Ike but is not yet calling for that critical step because of uncertainty about the storms' ultimate direction, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Monday.

The New Orleans area would not need a full evacuation if Ike continues on its current path, although officials will be on the watch for a potential tidal surge that could affect some communities even though they may be far from the storm, Jindal said.

"It's too early to be evacuating, certainly," Jindal said. However, it is not too soon to prepare for that possibility, he said. "There is a chance we will not have to evacuate at all."

Click here for the rest.

Well okay. It seems like officials are not terribly concerned about Ike hitting the NOLA area, even though I keep noting that the so-called "cone of probability" that weather forecasters love to show on their Gulf of Mexico maps has New Orleans on the extreme eastern edge. That is, Ike hitting here remains a definite possibility, although not a big one. And that's just fine by me especially because I think one forced evacuation in a year is quite enough.

But I do worry about Houston. Not much. I mean, my home town isn't nearly as exposed to the elements as my newly adopted town here in South Louisiana, but there are many people in Space City who I adore. I went through category three Hurricane Alicia back in 1983 and it was pretty wild--at one point, I saw three trees fall on the house across the street during a particularly violent fifteen minute stretch, and then our power was out for an excruciating three weeks. What I'm saying is that while Houston doesn't stand to be destroyed by Ike in the way that New Orleans could have been by Gustav, or was by Katrina, a direct hit would cause some major hardship.

You know, I don't remember hurricane season sucking so much before Katrina, and I've lived on the Gulf coast for almost all of my life. Am I simply more aware now because of the 2005 season, or are things actually worse these days? Whatever the answer, I'm sure there are numerous right-wing dicks who would insist that it all has nothing to do with global warming. I mean "climate change." Whatever.

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