Images From Hurricane Ike

[82Rigger]

Hurricane Ike was "technically" a Category 2 hurricane.
Been through several of 'em here where I live.
Normally there is "moderate" damage - limbs down, shingles off, broken windows, power lines down, that sort of stuff.

But Ike was colossal in size - over six hundred miles in diameter.
The larger the hurricane, the more water it moves around.

The volume of water that Ike pushed in front of it is mind-boggling.

To equal the energy unleashed by this hurricane, you would have to detonate a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb every 20 seconds.







Galveston - Watercraft deposited on the freeway by storm surge.










Seawall Boulevard, Galveston.










Galveston - storm swells bursting over the seawall.










Clear Lake, Texas, near the Johnson Space Center.










Clear Lake, Texas near Galveston.










Houston Ship Channel - A tugboat labors to refloat a ship grounded by the storm surge.










Frederika Kotin kisses her dog Belle as her home burns behind her.










Removing debris and boats from the highway.










I-45 Southbound into Galveston.










Debris deposited by the storm surge on Interstate 45.










Lucky, or good planning?










Seawall Boulevard, Galveston.










Trailer park, Galveston










What's left of a Wendy's restaurant.










The Seawall, Galveston.
The statue in the background with upraised arm is the memorial to the thousands of victims of the 1900 hurricane.



photos by Reuters