Hurricane Ike Damage

Hurricane Ike made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in the early morning hours of September 13, 2008. The storm battered the coastal areas of Texas with heavy winds, rains and a storm surge of as much as 13 feet of water. President George W. Bush declared 29 counties in Texas as disaster areas.¹

Authorities reported that as many as 140,000 people ignored evacuation orders. Governor Rick Perry said that Texas will have to conduct what is probably the "largest search and rescue operation that's ever been conducted int the state of Texas."²

At least three million people lost power after heavy winds and rains knocked down power lines.³ In Houston, glass windows shattered as the winds tore through the metropolitan area with greater speeds around skyscrapers than at ground level.⁴

Fast Facts

Hurricane Ike made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on September 13, 2008⁵

Nine deaths were contributed to Hurricane Ike⁶

Flooding reported near the Johnson Space Center⁵

Thousands of homes and government buildings were flooded⁷

George W. Bush said Ike caused extensive damage in Texas and Louisiana⁴

FEMA send more than 5.5 million prepackaged meals to the area and 5.6 million liters of water⁴

Brazoria County was evacuated on September 10

Houston was evacuated on September 11

Galveston was evacuated on September 11

As many as 140,000 ignored evacuation orders²