Author: David Drummond

Debris of all sorts was all over the place in Galveston as you might imagine. Some places worse than others.  It seems to be a priority of course to get major roadways at least passable in one lane or two so crews can get around and do what needs to be done.

I45 is now open on the northboard side, just barely in some places, but traffic is going and coming and anyone that wants to leave the island can do so. Only official folks and media are getting back in.  I45 southbound is a complete mess that will no doubt take days to clean off.  Dozens of yahts and all sorts of misc debris, 3 feet deep in some places, clog the southbound side.   I wonder what they do with all of it?

Some quick video below of some of what was going on in Galveston when daylight came out.

Here is a little video of the incredible surf pounding the Galveston seawall as Hurricane Ike was looming in. The seawall here is 17 feet tall and there is usually quite a bit of beach out there. Some of those waves crashing in were reaching nearly 30 feet tall! The noise was deafening. It was a bit unnerving to realize that certain death loomed only a few feet away.  Have you ever seen such angry water?

Every building in that video no longer exists after Ike came through, except the large Flagship Hotel in the distance. The first building in the video is the historic Balinese Room. It was sad to realize we shot what were probably the last images and video of the place still standing. It has quite a long and rich history and many big time folks played and spent time there.  A 70 year old piece of history, now gone with the wind.