Friday, September 12, 2008
Ike
Considering the hurricane that utterly devastated Galveston on September 8, 1900 (details here), it seems particularly frightening to consider what Ike might be like today and this weekend. The path is eerily similar but Ike's size actually seems wider. At leat 6,000 people were killed in Galveston and, altogether, the hurricane killed more than any the Johnstown Flood, the San Francisco Earthquake, the 1938 New England Hurricane and the Great Chicago Fire combined. It's alarming to think that some residents aren't leaving when you consider what the consequences can be. Even non-alarmist weather guru Alan Sullivan thinks it's going to be pretty bad due to the water surge which may reach 25 feet according to some estimates. (That's like four normal height men standing on top of each other.) He says "[m]any structures will fail in the prolonged wave action of Ike. Don’t be shy about summoning help now, during the last few hours in which it might be possible." The excessively alarmist coverage of the last few hurricanes may have lessened the probability of many people taking them seriously this time. I hope this will be over reaction too.
Incidentally, just in case there aren't enough controversies and arguments about things like pigs and lipstick and resumé substance, apparently the intensity of some of this fall's hurricanes may be on account of the relatively cool summer we've had this year and the interplay of various water and air temperatures and moistures. Oh boy.
Incidentally, just in case there aren't enough controversies and arguments about things like pigs and lipstick and resumé substance, apparently the intensity of some of this fall's hurricanes may be on account of the relatively cool summer we've had this year and the interplay of various water and air temperatures and moistures. Oh boy.
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