Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms

Hurricane Ike

Pre- and Post-Storm Photo Comparisons - Surfside Beach to San Louis Pass, TX

Location index for photo pairs from Surfside Beach to San Louis Pass, TX. The green line shows Hurricane Ike's storm track.

Location 1: Oblique aerial photography from Quintana, TX on September 9, 2008 (top) and September 15, 2008, two days after landfall of Hurricane Ike (bottom). Yellow arrows mark features that appear in each image. At this location well west of Ike's landfall location, there is evidence of erosion of the seaward leg of the rectangular berm. The steep scarp is typical of erosion due to wave collision against the berm slope. Erosion and overwash can be seen on the lower dune to the west (left) of the larger berm. [larger version]

Location 2: Oblique aerial photography from Surfside Beach, TX on September 9, 2008 (top) and September 15, 2008, two days after landfall of Hurricane Ike (bottom). Yellow arrows mark features that appear in each image. Here, severe beach and dune erosion occurred, cutting the beach back to the road. The cut nearly breached the road. [larger version]

Location 3: Oblique aerial photography from Christmas Bay, TX on September 9, 2008 (top) and September 15, 2008, two days after landfall of Hurricane Ike (bottom). Yellow arrows mark features that appear in each image. Here, severe beach and dune erosion occurred and overwash or inundation deposited sand behind remnants of the dune and onto the road. [larger version]

Location 4: Oblique aerial photography from Follet Island, TX on September 9, 2008 (top) and September 15, 2008, two days after landfall of Hurricane Ike (bottom). Yellow arrows mark features that appear in each image. Inundation here caused severe beach and dune erosion as well as overwash. The cut that eroded through the road may have been a pathway for both landward flow, before landfall, and seaward flow after landfall. [larger version]

Science that Weathers the Storm: USGS Responds to Ike
USGS