Tuesday, 6:43 p.m.

We went to Bishop James Dixon’s Community of Faith Church this afternoon.  It’s a POD or Point of Distribution location near Acres Homes.  There were hundreds of people waiting for the trucks to show up.  We saw people holding babies, people with canes, the elderly – everyone was patiently waiting. 

Turns out, they would have to wait for hours.  The trucks did not show up until a quarter to one.  The cheer that went up and the smiles on people’s faces said it all.  The lines began to move…cars that had stretched out for a mile and half, pulled in, with their trunks open.  Volunteers filled the vehicles with food, water and ice.  The pedestrian line began to move too.  Big groups walked up to receive their supplies.  Their journey home was harder, weighed down with a case of water, a case of food and ice. 

We saw one young girl rolling her box of MRE’s.   The box was half her size.  We saw an elderly woman with a cane, trying to figure out how she was going to move her box of water and food just a few feet out of the crowd.  She told us help was coming to get her items home.  We saw families juggling babies who said they had a two mile walk home by foot.  They were still trying to figure out how they would carry everything.  When I left there, it seemed like the distribution was going well.

I saw Bishop Dixon a few hours later at the Harris County Emergency Management Center.  He was very frustrated.  Three hours after the food arrived, they had run out. He had to shut his POD down and turn people away.  And, Bishop Dixon said, he had no one to notify, no one to call for more supplies.  He said he wasn’t even sure if more trucks would arrive for tomorrow. 

We’ve heard this type of situation play out at other PODS.  I asked Bishop Dixon what he thought was the problem.  He suggested that there needed to be some people from the community who knew the neighborhoods involved in the distribution process.  A central point person to call for updates on trucks and when they would arrive would be helpful too. 

Church of Faith had hundreds of volunteers handing out food, ice and water.   The church was ready for the crowds. The question is why weren’t more trucks ready to bring supplies to this location?  Bishop Dixon would like some answers, so would the hundreds of people who showed up at this location and walked away empty handed.

Posted by 11 News reporter Leigh Fricilli

Saturday, 11:44 a.m.

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON—Now that the weather has improved, albeit slightly, we have had an opportunity to assess the damage here.

It is still early, but the damage is clearly widespread.

Alex Sanz

How extensive is it? That depends on what street you’re on. The intersection of Texas and Travis, for instance, has significant damage. Most of the windows on the east side the JP Morgan Chase tower are blown out, from ground level, to near the fiftieth floor.

Nearby, the Rice Lofts and the Houston Chronicle are examining their respective structures for damage. Surrounding streets are littered with broken glass, tattered blinds and downed trees.

As of this writing, many streets are still open to traffic; keep in mind, however, glass is still falling from some skyscrapers. It is important that people stay out of the area. 

Elsewhere, some intersections remain under water. The clean-up here will be extensive and lengthy.

Posted by 11 News reporter Alex Sanz

Saturday, 8:13 a.m.

DICKINSON — Light is beginning to streak through the windows here at the Galveston EOC, but we still don’t have a clear vision of what this county looks like today. The Galveston County Emergency Management Coordinator, John Simsen, just told residents they must not return to the county for at least a few days. He’s asking residents to stay away, to give search and rescue crews the room they’ll need to find people who stayed behind and who need help. The county has also arranged with contractors to begin the hard work of clearing debris and restoring electricity. This job goes more quickly when the residents who evacuated stay out of the way.

The other story here is that of the people who are running the emergency center. Most of them live in the county, and many of them believe they have lost their homes. The woman who lent us her hair dryer to help our camera dry off lives on Galveston’s West End. She thinks she has no home to return to.

That story is being repeated over and over, yet these people continue to do their jobs. They’ve worked through the night and have no intention of sleeping any time soon. These are dedicated folks who are serving the citizens here well. If you evacuated, be glad you did. Now, please, thank the folks who stayed behind to help preserve your property—by staying away for a few more days.

Posted by 11 News reporter Lee McGuire

Saturday, 7:47 a.m.

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON—There is no letting up here. Ike’s fierce winds continue to pummel this area.

It is hard to gauge the damage from our location at the corner of Louisiana and Polk but it is likely extensive. We have spent the past hour shielding ourselves under the canopy of the Hyatt at this intersection.

Its canvas top and entrance doors are offering us welcome protection.

Still, the situation is disconcerting. We have watched as shards of glass have pierced the canvas above us and crashed within feet of our vehicle; these are likely blown out windows from the tall skyscrapers around us. Also, those sheets of metal.

They have been peeled from the facades of Downtown buildings, crumpled and sent dancing through the streets.

The sounds are what you’d expect: that of howling winds and debris crashing through ground-level windows. One outstanding question is what will the rising water do? We are now twenty feet from an intersection that is easily under two feet of water—and it’s moving fast.

There’s no question here, things are bad, and getting worse.

Posted by 11 News reporter Alex Sanz

Saturday, 5:39 a.m.

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON—Weather conditions are punishing here as the eye wall moves near the heart of the nation’s fourth largest city.

Alex Sanz

Right now, hurricane-force winds are blowing through.

But it’s the shards of glass raining from the tops of skyscrapers that is adding to the danger.

Sheets of steel have peeled off the top floors of many Downtown buildings.

At ground level, bus shelters have been knocked over and debris is swirling through the streets. Adding to the misery, the so-called “tunnel effect,” that gives the wind devastating power.

The power, however, is still on.

Posted by 11 News reporter Alex Sanz

Friday, 11:30 p.m.

HOUSTON -- All is quiet here at Transtar. Shortly following the 10 p.m. press conference it was lights out - figuratively, not literally - the hard working folks here are getting some much-needed sleep.

Some of my colleagues have joined in. But before some of the emergency professionals turned in for a few hours, I had a question about a board in the media room.

The board is called the Harris County Automated Warning System. The board is broken down by ZIP code down to the street and bayou level. 

On this board are dozens and dozens of lights – amber and green. As the day progressed, I noticed these lights slowly lighting up. So I asked what the board is for. Interestingly enough, this board has a twin upstairs, and the emergency professionals up there are closely watching it, too. The lights are telling a story about what the water in Harris County is up to.

So this is what I found out, amber lights measure rain that has fallen in the last 30 minutes -- that’s the first indication of water making an appearance.

When the amber light starts flashing, the rain is falling more than an inch in 30 minutes. On the other hand, green lights indicate how fast the water is rising. 

A flashing green light means the water is quickly reaching maximum capacity and is 3 feet from flood stage. As you can imagine the coastal waterways are both green and amber. Both are flashing like mad. The entire board is lit up like a Christmas tree. 

Right now, Clear Creek, Clear Lake and Gus Wrotham Park are flooded both colors are flashing. Also, Buffalo Bayou at W. Sam Houston is glowing a green indicating it is closing in on flood stage. But most, if not all the bayous in Houston are lit in amber… so far.  

Also, those aren’t the only lights flashing. The electricity here at Transtar has been flickering on and off, too.

So far, all the lights are still on.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Leticia Juarez

Friday, 10:55 p.m.

GALVESTON -- Even in the middle of a hurricane, crooks seem to keep active. Galveston police said they arrested four people on burglary charges after a home was broken into.

The suspects were in Galveston Police custody. It was unclear if they had been transported to the city jail.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Rucks Russell

Friday, 10:51 p.m.

DICKINSON -- We've done our last "outdoors" live shot for a while here in Dickinson at the Galveston County Emergency Operations Center. The wind is howling, and we had to bring our transmission mast down.

That's the tall pole that sticks up from our live trucks -- it's how we send a TV signal back to our receiver sites throughout the area. When the wind gets too powerful, we have to bring the mast down or else the truck will topple over.

We just brought it down.

It doesn't seem like we'll be able to broadcast from here again until the storm passes. We do have the ability to broadcast from our location indoors via broadband internet, so we may crank that up if we get new information from the folks at the EOC. We're safe in here -- good luck out there.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Lee McGuire

Friday, 8:32 p.m.

Beach Patrol uses surfboard to save woman and her dog from flooded home

GALVESTON -- Angie Wright and her dog were at first planning to ride out Hurricane Ike on Galveston Island. However, as waters from the storm surge flooded streets and homes, she changed her mind.

Wright said she called 911 for assistance, but claims dispatchers told her that rescuers would come to get her, but she would have to leave her dog behind. So she refused the help.

As the water continued to rise to waist-deep levels, she called for help again.

This time a pair of lifeguards from the Galveston Beach Patrol came to the rescue. The lifeguards used a surfboard to make their way down the street behind Parker Elementary and rescued Wright and her dog.

“I am very happy, because I had no place to go,” said Wright. “I've been here for 15 years and never seen it that bad.”

Wright was taken to the island's shelter of last resort at Ball High School.

--Posted by 11 News reporter Jeff McShan

Friday, 6:31 p.m.

Now it gets interesting

DICKINSON -- We have "hunkered down," as they say, at the Galveston County Emergency Operations Center in Dickinson. The county and the National Weather Service built this back in 2005 and intended it to hold up against a Category 5 hurricane, complete with storm surge. It's the only building on piers around here.

One of the reasons we abandoned Kemah and came here is because of the storm surge. When we left, the water level was about seven feet above where it usualy is, which was enough to flood the Boardwalk and lap nearly up to Highway 146. The water was beginning to cut off our escape routes

Here's a fairly dramatic assessment of how things are changing in Galveston Bay. The NOAA has a series of sensors up and down the bay that track air pressure and tidal levels. This chart sums it up:

http://www.tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/plotcomp.shtml?station_info=8771013+Eagle+Point,+TX

At 6:30pm, it shows the pressure has dropped dramatically and the water level is about eight feet above where it should be.

This is why I am glad the Galveston County EOC is 22 feet above sea level, and I'm on the second floor.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Lee McGuire

Friday, 4:18 p.m.

SEABROOK -- I'm in Seabrook right now where the surge has already flooded homes nearly a half-mile inward in some spots. There is a mandatory evacuation in place, but police fear as many as 30 percent of the homes right along the coast could be occupied by residents trying to ride out Hurricane Ike. 

The problem is those homes are already unreachable unless by boat or helicopter. So police are preparing to respond to several calls throughout the rest of the day and night searching for trapped residents who underestimated the storm's surge. 

Obviously, police are not happy about putting themselves in harm's way since the warnings have been out there. Here's hoping they stay safe.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Kevin Peters

Friday, 3:35 p.m.

KEMAH—The water here is rising at about an inch every fifteen minutes or so. It’s not exactly disquieting, but it is strange to think that every time I go back to the live truck and return to the camera (about a fifteen minute trip), the water’s gone up again. Spots where Kevin Peters and I did live shots earlier today are now completely submerged. And the Boardwalk—don’t even ask about the Boardwalk.

(It’s probably still there, but it’s under about two feet of water by now.)

The nice thing about that is the tourists aren’t coming to take a peek at the water nearly as often. I hope our coverage has helped convince them that it simply isn’t safe to do this. Kemah Police officers have been nearly begging us to continue reporting that it is too dangerous for folks to come to Galveston Bay. I get the impression that they are genuinely worried about the people in this community, who may be getting themselves into situations that they cannot handle. I’m worried about that, too. Some of the folks we’ve seen coming out (with their little kids and their little dogs in tow) have looked terribly unprepared for what is about to hit us.

I hope I’m wrong, and that they are now home with life jackets, generators, and gallons of bottled water.

On the flip side, there’s a Dairy Queen on Highway 146 here that refuses to close. We’ll see about that. The other Dairy Queen, at 146 and NASA Road 1, is taking on water.

Finally—we are getting ready to pull the plug on our live coverage from Kemah. We decided yesterday that we would ride the storm out at a different location in a secure building away from the storm surge—and we are about to move to that spot.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Lee McGuire

Friday, 1:32 p.m.

TRANSTAR -- We’re back at Transtar.  This is home base for the Harris County Office of Emergency Management.  At about noon today, everyone in the press that needed to be here to cover the press conferences had to be in the building.  They have shuttered the main doors to protect against the storm.  Everyone here is prepared to stay here for the next 24 to 30 hours or how ever long it takes.  We are here with our blankets, our air mattresses, food, water, snacks – everything we need to sustain ourselves for the duration.  I’ve sent some pictures along. 

Leigh Frillici/ 11 News

Houstonians prepare for Hurricane Ike's arrival Friday.

As I was driving to Transtar, I saw many other Houstonians getting prepared too.  I shot pictures in Meyerland of people boarding up homes.  Even though this area is an hour away from the coast, some homes experienced flooding during Allison.  Since then there’s been a lot of work on the bayou’s and retention basins.  There’s a hope that these will be enough to prevent flooding.

If you need ice today, you may have a hard time finding it.  As I was driving to Transtar, I stopped at two grocery stores and 2 gas stations.  My photographer, Bob Luna, also stopped at 2 gas stations.  Everywhere we went they were out of ice.  Some places said they were making it, but it wouldn’t be available for an hour or two.

A lunch of sandwiches from the Emergency Management Center just came in.  We’ll be back writing more in a little bit.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Leigh Frillici

Friday, 11:50 a.m.

NEAR HIGH ISLAND – This is a follow-up to the earlier post about evacuations along the Bolivar Peninsula. 

Early on, en route to file a report on the evacuations, we knew there was a chance the water would keep us out of the evacuation area.  We didn’t expect the water to keep us far away. 

Our travel to the peninsula took us from the East Freeway in Baytown to Winnie, where we turned south on State Highway 124, to head to High Island.  Several miles from the center of town we came to an abrupt stop on the other side of the Intracoastal Waterway. 

The water has risen here, too, and State Highway 124 is impassible. 

All the animals that made their home in the surrounding fields are searching for higher ground – ants, spiders, crickets, mice, rats, turtles – and snakes.  It’s no surprise.  This is part of the mandatory evacuation area. 

People are trapped in their homes as the Gulf waters continue to rise. 

Those U.S. Coast Guard evacuations – by way HH-65C rescue helicopters – continue; evacuees are still being taken to Ellington Field in Southeast Houston.  We’ve said this countless times today.  DO NOT head toward the coast.  

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Alex Sanz

Friday, 11:34 a.m.

What a difference six hours makes.  As we went to bed, we were thinking that we were in for a Cat 1, maybe a Cat 2.  We awoke and the Ike Hurricane Icon was back to red, back to Cat. 3. 

We sort of feel like we woke up in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas and looked of our window to see the dancing waters at the Bellagio.  This was no Bellagio, this was the dancing waters show at the Galveston Seawall, and it was nearly ten miles in length.  Like Vegas, there are people placing bets.  Some are betting that the storm will not be a serious threat.  We are betting otherwise.  The ”Powers that Be” called at 6 a.m. to inform us that the storm surge associated with Ike  will be worse than what is typical with a Cat 2-3.  They suggested that the storm surge would be more like a 3-4.   This information was verified on air by the KHOU meteorologist just a short while later.  We felt the stock rise in our informants.  Their stock is not rising nearly as quickly as the water in Galveston.

A quick tour of the Island showed that water on the West End was covering streets, thus they were impassable.  Roads to the golf course and Moody Gardens were submerged.  With more than ten hours to landfall, Ike is already a problem

We are leaving the Island to see how Tiki and Bayou Vista look.  On our way out, we say a sign that read, “ Take a Hike Ike, Don’t Beat us Like Tina.”  

Until Later....  

Posted by Mike Millo and Jay Carnes, KHOU.com Storm Chasers

Friday, 11:06 a.m.

BOLIVAR PENINSULA – This, like other coastal areas of Galveston County, is under a mandatory evacuation order. 

Storm surge here, as in Galveston Island, is predicted to top fifteen feet or more. 

What’s happening here now – some fourteen hours or more before Ike’s expected landfall – is what happens when people don’t heed the order to leave.  As of this writing, the U.S. Coast Guard tells me parts of Bolivar Peninsula are under six feet of water. 

Places like Crystal Beach are holding at about three feet of water. 

The Coast Guard is now evacuating the people left behind with HH-65C rescue helicopters. 

Some, according to the Coast Guard, are waiting for rescue atop their homes.  As many as fifty people were expected to be rescued by helicopter and taken to nearby High Island. 

Now, the Coast Guard tells me that part of the peninsula is in danger of flooding, too.  The number of evacuees may now be more than 50.  Where will they go now?  Ellington Field in Southeast Houston.

-- Posted by 11 News reporter Alex Sanz

Friday, 9:25 a.m.

BAYTOWN – Clichés are, well, cliché.   

But what we’re witnessing this morning fits that old idiom, “calm before the storm.” 

Baytown, Texas, a short drive east of Downtown Houston, is waking up to a light breeze and a mostly sunny sky.  The bay waters are calm.  And that’s deceiving. 

Photo by Alex Sanz

Calm before the storm in Baytown

You wouldn’t know it by the weather, but look around and you’ll realize a storm is coming.  Overnight, while a curfew was in effect, we were hard pressed to find more than a stray cat along the side of Bayway Drive; residents listened and stayed off the streets. 

Whether the ones that live near the water will leave soon, that’s another story.  If the current forecast track holds – and we still don’t know if it will – Baytown could see a thirteen-foot storm surge. 

Remember, this is the same city that lost an entire subdivision of 375 homes when Hurricane Alicia came barreling through in 1983.  Right now, all city offices are closed.  They’ll stay closed until Monday at the earliest. 

There’s also a ban on the sale and purchase of alcohol and firearms until 8am on Monday. 

The Exxon-Mobil refinery here, the largest in the nation, has shut down.  And that’s telling of a larger problem.  Ike is headed toward a region that refines about 12% of this country’s oil. 

The prices at the pump tell the story; they’ve crept up already. 

But back to that “calm before the storm.”  We came across two fishermen earlier this morning.  They told me, “Hey, it’s nice.  Why not fish before the storm?” 

They did.  They tell me they plan to ride the storm out.  We’ll see if they do.

-- Posted by 11 News Reporter Alex Sanz

Thursday, 10:40 p.m.

GALVESTON -- For several days, we have been watching and waiting on the arrival of Hurricane IKE.

There was a time when we were planning a flight to Miami. 

That thought passed as Ike 's computer models shifted dramatically. We were thinking that we would be able to visit our hotel that was destroyed during Hurricane Dolly down in Padre.

Then, we made arrangements in Corpus Christi. Our attitude now let IKE come to us. 

A trip down the seawall in Galveston this evening showed a little activity. The residents who stayed were out and about.

A few walked and rode bikes on the seawall. There were news trucks aplenty.

One local restaurant remained open. The tide was low and the waves were choppy.

Businesses that welcome and thrive on tourism displayed signs indicating disenchantment for one particular visitor. 

As we head to bed, we are not convinced that Ike is set on Galveston. It would not surprise us if we were tracking IKE again first thing in the morning and heading up the coast. 

The ferry is closing at 11PM so we will have to chart a different course should that happen. We are only certain of one thing Ike will hit, somewhere.

We will be there to meet and greet.

-- Posted by Mike Millo and Jay Carnes

Thursday, 7:43 p.m.

It’s almost 7:00 at Transtar.  We’re told Houston Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett will be holding another press conference around 10 or 10:30.  It will follow another conference call that starts at 9:30. 

Some of the things we’ll be waiting to hear about is whether a contraflow will be put in place.  We’ll also be asking about the gas situation and how the evacuation process is going. 

Congressman Nick Lampson’s office has also been keeping us informed.  His office sent us information on two items…

1.  UTMB in Galveston:

They initially had 400+ Patients, now they are down to 50.  UTMB Galveston expects to be fully evacuated by 9pm CST.  The majority of the patients are going to Austin, but some went to San Antonio, some to Tyler, TX.  Seton Health Care (Austin) took the bulk of all patients. 

2.  Ellington Airport:

Ellington has 25 employees there now and also during the storm.  They have moved aircraft inland and moved 70-100 airmen to the Westheimer Armory. 

There’s a possibility they will stage the search boats there towards the end of the storm.  They have 30 aircraft standing by, but not at Elllington.  They will be (after the hurricane passes) the supply distribution center. 

After the storm, there will be 350 personnel back there to support relief operations.  They will have all the C130's there, as well as all of the transport vehicles.

Posted by 11 News reporter Leigh Frillici

Thursday, 1:40 p.m

It’s 1:40 in the afternoon, and UTMD in Galveston CONTINUES to be abuzz with activity in advance of Ike.  The hospital began mandatory evacuations early this morning, a gargantuan undertaking involving dozens of buses, ambulances and helicopters on standby to ferry the most critical patients.

I’ve noticed a number of worried faces, of patients dealing with medical ailments combined with the disruption of having to move.

Officials are relocating 260 patients in all, with the vast majority being shipped to another facility in Austin.

We spoke with one patient, a man named Kenneth Johnson, who’s experienced this kind of operation before.  “I was evacuated from a hospital during Katrina, so here we go again”, he told us.  He went on to say about Ike, “He’s a bad boy”.

Hospital officials tell us they’ve been expecting an evacuation, and actually began discharging patients early on Wednesday.  They hope to have the operation completed by sundown, and things seem to be moving along smoothly.

But there’s nothing routine about being sick and being moved.  It’s a sentiment most of the patients are wearing on their faces.

Posted by 11 News reporter Rucks Russell

Thursday, 7:30 a.m.

GALVESTON ISLAND – Much of the Texas coast is waking up to a Hurricane Watch and officials here are not taking chances.  If the current storm track holds – and it’s still too soon to say if it will – we’re looking at a storm surge upwards of 15 feet on the western part of the island. 

Right now, a mandatory evacuation is in place for all areas west of the seawall; elsewhere on the island, a voluntary evacuation is in place. 

Anyone who stays is being urged to shelter in place or go to a still to be established shelter on the island.  The big concern, again, will be the rising Gulf waters. 

Already, we’ve seen the surf cover the sand and lap at one of the main roads in Bermuda Beach.  Yesterday, a lot of people were taking a wait-and-see approach. 

Today, people are making final preparations, boarding their homes, packing their cars and preparing to head to safer ground.

Posted by 11 News reporter Alex Sanz

Wednesday, 8:41 a.m.

BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas – Residents of this Southeast Texas county woke up to a mix of mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders in advance of Hurricane Ike’s uncertain track. 

11 News photo

The calm before the storm at Surfside Beach.

While anyone in Brazoria County can leave today if they choose, it’s the residents of the coastal ZIP code 77541 – areas including Freeport, Jones Creek, Oyster Creek, Quintana, Surfside and Surfside Beach – who are being ordered to pack up and hit the road, beginning at 10 a.m. 

Alread we’re hearing buses will leave from Angleton and West Columbia to take evacuees to a shelter in Bell County, south of Waco.  It’s hard to say, though, how many people will go.

As many as 20,000 people live or work in the mandatory evacuation zone.  Right now, everything appears to be business as usual; most people we’ve spoken with say they’re going to wait and see where Ike goes.

Posted by 11 News reporter Alex Sanz