Field Investigation of Hurricane Ike Impacts to the Upper Texas Coast

Field Investigation of Hurricane Ike Impacts to the Upper Texas Coast PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hurricanes
Languages : en
Pages : 15

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Field Investigation of Hurricane Ike Impacts to the Upper Texas Coast

Field Investigation of Hurricane Ike Impacts to the Upper Texas Coast PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hurricanes
Languages : en
Pages : 15

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Book Description


Hurricane Ike Field Investigations

Hurricane Ike Field Investigations PDF Author: Billy L. Edge
Publisher: Amer Society of Civil Engineers
ISBN: 9780784411209
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
This field report describes the environmental and infrastructure impacts of Hurricane Ike on the upper Texas coast in 2008.

Lessons from Hurricane Ike

Lessons from Hurricane Ike PDF Author: Philip B. Bedient
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603447369
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
If Hurricane Ike had made landfall just fifty miles down the Texas coast, the devastation and death caused by what was already one of the most destructive hurricanes in US history would have quadrupled. Ike made everyone realize just how exposed and vulnerable the Houston-Galveston area is in the face of a major storm. What is done to address this vulnerability will shape the economic, social, and environmental landscape of the region for decades to come. In Lessons from Hurricane Ike, Philip Bedient and the research team at the Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice University provide an overview of some of the research being done in the Houston-Galveston region in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. The center was formed shortly after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Its research examines everything from surge and inland flooding to bridge infrastructure. Lessons from Hurricane Ike gathers the work of some of the premier researchers in the fields of hurricane prediction and impact, summarizing it in accessible language accompanied by abundant illustrations—not just graphs and charts, but dramatic photos and informative maps. Orienting readers to the history and basic meteorology of severe storms along the coast, the book then revisits the impact of Hurricane Ike and discusses what scientists and engineers are studying as they look at flooding, storm surges, communications, emergency response, evacuation planning, transportation issues, coastal resiliency, and the future sustainability of the nation’s fourth largest metropolitan area.

The Impact of Hurricane Ike on the Geomorphology of Follett's Island, Texas - Short and Long Term Effects

The Impact of Hurricane Ike on the Geomorphology of Follett's Island, Texas - Short and Long Term Effects PDF Author: Craig F. Harter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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In many places along the U.S. East and Gulf Coast, barrier islands are the first line of defense against extreme weather events threatening our coastlines. Follett's Island is a sediment-starved barrier island located on the Upper Texas Coast; a stretch of coastline that experiences on average four hurricanes and four tropical cyclones per decade. As the topic of this thesis the impact of Hurricane Ike on Follett's Island (FI), TX is studied. The goal of this study is to address how Hurricane Ike affected the sediment supply on the subaerial beach and foredune of FI, how the island recovered following the hurricane, and what physical processes governed the response of the island during the hurricane. This study first outlines the collection of available hydrographic, atmospheric, aerial and survey data and provides an analysis of these data to characterize the long term metocean and geomorphological state of the island. It was found that water levels at FI during Hurricane Ike exceeded the 100 year water levels, and wave heights matched roughly the 40 year exceedance levels. From LiDAR surveys, it is clear that despite an initial sediment volume loss after the hurricane, the foredune and subaerial beach ultimately experienced a net gain in sediment volume (up to 25%), and an extension of the shoreline (up to 25 m) after a five year recovery period. Numerical modeling tools XBeach and CSHORE were employed in an attempt to numerically reproduce the observed effects of the hurricane on FI. The ultimate goal of the numerical modeling is to show a real time response of the island during the passing of the storm, rather than the before and after snapshots provided by LiDAR data. XBeach displayed a decent model skill of 0.34 and was very useful in qualitatively visualizing erosion and deposition patterns. CSHORE also displayed a decent model skill of 0.33 and was able to accurately predict the post-storm beach slope and shoreline, but was less effective at simulating the foredune morphology. Based on these data, the subaerial beach and foredune ultimately experienced a net gain in sediment volume after recovering from Hurricane Ike. This is a phenomenon that is contrary to the findings of other studies, and thus it is clear that sediment-starved barrier islands like FI need fundamentally different coastal protection considerations than other coastal systems. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/155506

The Charging of the Flood

The Charging of the Flood PDF Author: Jerry Joseph Lord
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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This ethnographic analysis of the social and physical effects of Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas and the consequent recovery that emerged afterward is based on 20 months of field research conducted immediately before and after the storm's landfall. The introductory chapter locates the ethnographer just prior to the hurricane as he prepared for an unexpected evacuation. It then presents the conceptual framework for a multi-sited ethnography of "disaster culture" and introduces analytic keywords of "vulnerability," "resilience," "dreamworlds," and "catastrophe." It concludes by discussing a set of historical and contemporary socio-economic conditions in Galveston. This provides a frame of reference of both the social formations of storm experiences and the public recovery dynamics that attended with Ike's aftermath that are discussed throughout the text. This is further supplemented with an explanation of Ike's flooding and the geographic distribution of storm damage. Chapter two begins with an ethnographic vignette of the first townhall meeting held in Galveston after Ike. This introduces several recurrent topics of concern that were formative of disaster-culture dynamics. It then provides a literature review of the anthropology of disaster before segueing into a presentation of storm narratives. It ends with an analysis that further elaborates on the formative dynamics of Galvestonian disaster culture. Chapter three provides an analysis of the public deliberations that emerged over long-term redevelopment initiatives; particularly, the advocacy practices of a faith-based consortium; advocacy on behalf of restoring the University of Texas Medical Branch; the public Long Term Recovery Committee, and a FEMA buyout program that benefited higher income property owners on the western end of the island. The fourth chapter provides an extended case study concerning the rebuilding of 569 units of public housing that were subsequently destroyed after the hurricane. The rebuilding of public housing became the most vitriolic public issue during the course of fieldwork. The concluding chapter invokes the concepts of "dreamworlds" and "catastrophe" used by historian and philosopher Walter Benjamin to show the processual dynamics between the initial hopes for collectively strengthening Galveston through federally funded redevelopment and the increasingly negative assessments of the city's long-term urban fortunes.

The Damage Assessment Process

The Damage Assessment Process PDF Author: Henry B. Hodde (III.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Disaster relief
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Hurricane Storm Surge Sedimentation on East Texas Gulf Coast Marshes

Hurricane Storm Surge Sedimentation on East Texas Gulf Coast Marshes PDF Author: Joshua Brian Hodge
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Coastal sediments
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Hurricanes are well known for producing catastrophic devastation to both natural and human environments along the northern Gulf of Mexico coastline. Hurricane Ike made landfall on the eastern tip of Galveston Island, Texas, on 13 September 2008, and the region in the right-front quadrant of the storm experienced catastrophic storm surge flooding. This study investigates spatial variations in sediment distribution on McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, which is located in the geographic region that was impacted by the right-front quadrant of Hurricane Ike. Fieldwork conducted in summer 2017 and summer 2018 involved digging shallow pits on four transects between Sabine Pass, Texas, and High Island, Texas. Eight pit sites were established on Transect 1, the easternmost transect, and six pit sites each were established on Transects 2, 3, and 4, with Transect 4 located farthest west. All four transects extend 880-1630 meters, with pit sites beginning near the coastline and extending landward. Elevations were measured at each pit site along all four transects using a telescopic level and stadia rod. Results obtained in the field indicate that the Hurricane Ike sediment deposit has been found on all four transects, and that the deposits decrease in thickness moving landward along each transect. On Transect 1, at Pit Site 1, the thickness of the Hurricane Ike deposit was 61 centimeters; this same deposit gradually tapers down to a thickness of 4 centimeters at Pit Site 8. On Transect 4, Pit Site 1 had a sediment thickness of 53 centimeters, whereas at Pit Site 6 the deposit was 5 centimeters thick. Additionally, there is evidence that sedimentation has been impacted by the presence of man-made levees that lie perpendicular to the Gulf Coast at Transects 2, 3, and 4. Furthermore, the observational results of this study were used in Regression Analyses to model hurricane storm surge sediment deposit thickness based on pit site distance inland, pit site elevation, and distance from the landfall of Hurricane Ike. Moreover, Analysis of Variance revealed whether distance inland, distance from landfall location, and the interaction between distance inland and distance from landfall location had any significant effect on storm surge deposit thickness. Actual sediment deposit thicknesses measured in the field were compared to the Regression and Analysis of Variance results. Results show that the Power Law Curve from the Regression Analyses was the most robust predictor of pit site sediment thickness based on distance inland, with an R2 value of 0.538. Additionally, the Regression and Analysis of Variance results revealed that transect distance from the landfall location of Hurricane Ike was the only independent variable that could not predict or explain storm surge deposit thickness. The goal of this study was to discover spatial variations in storm surge sedimentation in the geographic region impacted by the right-front quadrant of Hurricane Ike. The findings of this study provide improved understanding of the spatial relationship between storm surge sedimentation and storm surge heights, valuable knowledge about the sedimentary response of coastal marshes subject to storm surge deposition, and useful guidance to public policy aimed at combating the effects of sea-level rise on coastal marshes along the northern Gulf of Mexico coastline.

After Ike

After Ike PDF Author: Bryan Carlile
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603441506
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
The day after Hurricane Ike made U.S. landfall at Galveston, Texas, photographer Bryan Carlile was in a helicopter, working a service contract as a first responder. He took with him a native Texan’s good memories of the Gulf Coast but brought back images that tell the sobering story of this massive and historic storm. After Ike includes more than one hundred aerial photographs Carlile took of the hurricane’s grim aftermath accompanied by Carlile’s eyewitness captions. In some places, Carlile is able to show images from “before Ike” that bring home the magnitude of the changes wrought to both natural and human habitats. In a thoughtful, personal essay, Andrew Sansom, who was raised on the Texas coast, reflects on the realities of living in “Hurricane Alley.”

Hurricane Ike Along the Upper Texas Coast: An Introduction

Hurricane Ike Along the Upper Texas Coast: An Introduction PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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Book Description
This paper serves as an introduction for a group of papers documenting the severe coastal damage caused by Hurricane Ike that struck the Texas coast and southwest Louisiana coast in mid-September 2008. Background is first given to orient readers to the coastal area. The unusually long storm surge accompanying the hurricane is examined and its consequences for evacuation and property damage noted. Selected observations of damage to structures on west Galveston Island are then presented.

Spatial Variability in Washover Deposits

Spatial Variability in Washover Deposits PDF Author: Daniel Stephen Aylward
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
Washover sand deposits are common depositional features caused by large storms that affect coastal areas. Hurricane Ike was a powerful storm that hit the gulf coast in September of 2008, the track of the eye crossing Bolivar Peninsula in Texas. The attempt was made to exhaustively identify and map washover deposits caused by Hurricane Ike along the Texas coast to the southwest of landfall. Several transitions in the nature of the deposits are identified. The plan view distribution, the volume change, and the relationship with the antecedent topography all present changes that generally mirrors the alongshore decay of Hurricane Ike’s energy, represented by the storm surge and waves. These are put in context using the ratio, called here r, that is the maximum surge height in any given location at the beach divided by the height of the beach berm at the same location. In places where the storm surge was not high enough to overtop the beach berm, waves are assumed to have eroded the beach to the point that it allowed overwash to occur, and quantifying this contribution is a fertile avenue for future research.