For Texans, and especially Houstonians, last year’s devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey are still on everyone’s minds while the area continues to recover. But it wasn’t the first time the Houston area found itself in that condition. Three years after taking in survivors from Katrina, and ten years before Harvey, Hurricane Ike blew into Galveston Bay, causing flooding and devastation in Galveston and the southern parts of Houston. Small towns and areas like Gilchrist, Texas, on the Bolivar Peninsula was completely destroyed by the storm surge and winds.
But it wasn’t just the Houston/Galveston area that suffered in Ike’s wake. Louisiana, Mississippi and The Florida Panhandle also experienced flooding and other damage. States as far away as Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan and in the Windsor region of Canada felt Ike’s impact.
Oil Production Shutdown
Because of Ike’s projected path in the Gulf and to the Texas coastline, oil production began to shut down, especially the offshore platforms. Suddenly, gasoline and other petroleum became more expensive and harder to get. A total of 14 oil refineries ceased production. Meanwhile, cargo ships and oil tankers were forced to wait offshore after their usual ports in Texas and western Louisiana were closed due to the storm.
Refineries were previously shut down just a few weeks before in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav, which caused a temporary rise in prices and scarce supplies. Restarting production takes time, and production had just re-started when Ike became a threat. Now with a bullseye on Galveston, oil production again came to a halt in Texas and platforms were again evacuated. Panic buying caused shortages of gasoline, natural gas and home heating oil particularly in Tennessee and the Carolinas.
Evacuation
Three years prior, and just weeks after Katrina caused widespread damage in the New Orleans and Mississippi areas, Hurricane Rita threatened the same area of Houston. Fearing the worst, officials issued mandatory evacuations for Galveston and the southern parts of Houston. Between 2 and 4 million people evacuated the area, many of whom were not in mandatory or voluntary evacuation areas.
Highways were clogged, gas ran out along many areas, while state and interstate highways were gridlocked. Many evacuees turned around and went home, while others became stranded. The usual 3-hour drive from Houston to Austin now took as long as 18 hours as evacuees got out of the way. Other residents, seeing traffic, decided to take their chances and stay home. Rita ultimately landed onshore at the Texas-Louisiana border on the Sabine River, shifting the water and wind damage to the area of Cameron Parish.
When Ike threatened Texas in 2008, many Houstonians feared another evacuation disaster like the one for Rita, and opted not to evacuate. With its population more than doubled in 2017, Houston residents didn’t leave for Hurricane Harvey, due to the potential of a more disastrous evacuation.
Damages
Ultimately, Hurricane Ike caused more than $29 billion in damages, including oil & gas platforms, pipelines and storage tanks. Millions of people were without power for more than a week, with utility repair workers being brought in from as far north as Maryland (leaving those states without workers when Ike ultimately went there.)
Because electricity was not fully restored, many gas stations couldn’t sell gas even if they had it. The stations that had power would sell out quickly after a delivery, which was reduced to once a week until electricity and normal supply lines were restored. Grocery stores and other businesses saw the same scenario.
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