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Hurricane Ike: From Disaster to Recovery

AUSTIN, Texas -- On Sept. 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit the upper Texas Gulf Coast with a vengeance. Since that day many strides have been made in the recovery effort. Working together, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the state of Texas and other federal and local entities have demonstrated that "progress through partnership" is vital to successful recovery efforts.

FEMA, together with its state and federal partners, mobilized ahead of the storm, positioning equipment, personnel and resources in key locations, and ensuring a sufficient supply of commodities and supplies was on hand to meet anticipated needs. FEMA helped jumpstart the response effort, and it has remained in Texas throughout the recovery effort.

Coordinated efforts began well ahead of landfall to protect the safety of millions of people along the Gulf Coast:

Monday, Sept. 1:

The National Hurricane Center reports that a tropical depression in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde Islands has been upgraded to a tropical storm. Now called Tropical Storm Ike, it is expected to reach hurricane status in the next 36 hours. In all, the hurricane center issues 90 advisories regarding Hurricane Ike, the last one on Sept. 14.

Wednesday, Sept. 3:

Ike is upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, becoming the fifth hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season. Hurricane Ike is located about 670 miles east-northeast of the Leeward Islands.

Sunday, Sept. 7:

Early in the day, Ike's eye passes directly over the Turks Islands. By late evening, Ike makes landfall over eastern Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center issues an alert at 11 p.m. EDT saying it is too early to predict which portion of the Gulf Coast will ultimately be affected by Ike.
The first shelters open to assist Texans up and down the Gulf Coast who are evacuating ahead of Ike. As the official Incident Period begins, FEMA announces that search and rescue teams are pre-deployed to Houston and other cities possibly in Ike's path to assist in rescue operations should the need arise.
A FEMA Incident Management Assistance Team, the first federal coordinating group on the ground, is in Austin to provide essential situational awareness.
FEMA liaisons are on site in each of the state Emergency Operation Centers along the Gulf Coast. FEMA reports that it maintains supplies of commodities and emergency resources placed strategically around the country, and that contracts are in place to replenish supplies without shifting resources from other disaster operations.
The Aircraft Operations Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is conducting flights into the hurricane to provide vital data to the National Hurricane Center.

Monday, Sept. 8:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry issues a proclamation declaring that Hurricane Ike poses a threat of imminent disaster along the Texas coast and in numerous counties. In the proclamation, Perry declares a state of emergency.

Tuesday, Sept. 9:

FEMA is mobilizing equipment and resources for around-the-clock operations in anticipation of the presidential disaster declaration. The state of Texas is coordinating the evacuation of residents with special or medical needs, while mandatory and voluntary evacuations are being issued for counties along the upper Gulf Coast.
Federal assets are standing by to provide support, focusing on the state's request for air evacuations.

Wednesday, Sept. 10:

As Hurricane Ike bears down on the Texas coast, President George W. Bush issues a pre-landfall emergency disaster declaration for the state. The declaration authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts in the state. It also allows for federal aid to supplement and support any of the immediate response efforts.
The American Red Cross, schools and other entities are operating shelters for evacuees in several cities in Texas.
More than 100 on-site FEMA Community Relations specialists -- including speakers of Spanish, Korean, Laotian and Vietnamese -- are supporting shelter operations by tracking needs and relaying information to state officials.
The U.S. Coast Guard has put ships and aircraft, medical teams, disaster assistance response teams and other personnel on call, while the U.S. National Guard Bureau is poised to send nearly 40,000 additional troops to Texas to augment the 13,500 troops already in the region.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is working with Texas agencies and nonprofit organizations to ensure that hospitals and long-term care facilities have appropriate backup generators, generator fuel, supplies, equipment and personnel to maintain operations. Additionally, disaster medical assistance teams and public health service teams are staffing three Federal Medical Stations in Texas and have free-standing, self-contained Disaster Medical Assistance Teams on alert.

Thursday, Sept. 11:

In coordination with its federal partners, FEMA is assisting the state of Texas by providing equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impact of the emergency. Among the items requested or already deployed are 21 search and rescue boat teams, 3,000 seats on medical evacuation vehicles, 300 ambulances, 30 medical assistance teams, 750,000 meals, 120,000 comfort/hygiene kits, 290,000 blankets and 160,000 cots.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has provided real-time maps that emergency managers and the public are using to track storm surge and flooding before the storm hits. The maps will also be used to track storm-related data during the hurricane and after Ike hits.

Friday, Sept. 12:

As severe flooding swamps Galveston Island and many other areas of the coast, FEMA is coordinating with the state regarding the post-Ike response to issues such as debris removal, housing, roofing and emergency power.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) stands by to begin installing Blue Roofs, the heavy plastic sheeting that protects homes from further damage caused by leaking roofs.
Although 1.9 million people are being moved out of harm's way, and 41,000 special needs citizens evacuated, tens of thousands of Texans have decided to hunker down in their homes and try to ride out the hurricane.

Saturday, Sept. 13:

Ike crashes ashore over Galveston Island at 2:10 a.m. local time as a strong Category 2 hurricane, with winds of 110 mph, gusts of 125 mph and an eye that is 46 miles wide. The largest storm surge is estimated at 17 feet -- and possibly 20 feet in some areas.
Bush signs a Major Disaster Declaration for Texas, making federal funds available to assist the recovery efforts of individuals and communities in 29 counties. The designated Texas counties are: Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Cherokee, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller, and Washington Counties.
Later in the day, Bush signs the first amendment to the declaration, authorizing the federal government to pay the total cost of debris removal in the disaster area for 72 hours.
FEMA Community Relations specialists are meeting with victims in the shelters and providing vital information about registering for federal assistance.
NOAA aircraft begin flying damage assessment missions. Additionally, NOAA's National Geodetic Survey begins collecting thousands of aerial images of the hardest-hit areas in Texas (1,620 square miles in all). The photos are being used to assist search and rescue efforts, identify hazards to navigation and spills of hazardous materials.

Sunday Sept. 14:

Urban Search and Rescue task forces are conducting searches for the thousands of people who failed to evacuate ahead of the hurricane. In all, search and rescue teams working under the direction of the Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management will rescue more than 3,540 Texans and help an additional 5,798 people evacuate from extremely dangerous situations.
Housing inspectors begin assessing damages resulting from Ike.
A total of 234 shelters are open, providing safe havens for 40,614 evacuees.
The president signs Amendment 2 to the disaster declaration, authorizing federal reimbursement for emergency protective measures in all 29 of the counties in the original declaration.

Monday, Sept. 15:

Amid reports that more than 2 million power outages have occurred throughout the disaster area, USACE is conducting power assessments and providing generators for critical public facilities, such as hospitals, police stations and water treatment facilities. USACE also is delivering truckloads of ice and bottled water and is coordinating the efforts of the Interagency Debris Task Force that is comprised of local, state and federal agencies. One of USACE's highest priorities is to survey Houston's channels and ports in order to quickly return the nation's second largest port to full commercial capacity.
FEMA has activated the National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System to help reunite families that have become separated as a result of Hurricane Ike.
FEMA begins accepting applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
The Department of Energy (DOE) says refineries have reported minimal damage and that they are making preparations to restart operations. DOE also is tracking historical data on gas prices and supplies and will submit this data to federal and state authorities as they monitor possible gas gouging in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
DOE has deployed staff to the Gulf region to coordinate the restoration of power through southeast Texas, with special emphasis on infrastructure critical to the regional and national response efforts.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is providing FEMA with National Housing Locator System lists of housing available within a 250-mile radius of Houston to assist with families that may be displaced. HUD's public housing and multifamily assessment teams have begun housing assessments.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) begins issuing applications to individuals and businesses that may qualify for low-interest disaster loans as a result of hurricane damage or loss. The SBA also is preparing to staff Business Assistance Centers in the hardest-hit counties. The SBA has 47 support staff, 40 field inspectors, and is deploying an additional 93 staff to support recovery efforts in Texas.
The Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue, port assessments, infrastructure damage assessments and is prepared to respond to any oil spill/hazardous material pollution incidents.
The National Communications System is working with the communications industry to deal with hurricane-created debris and flooding in their efforts to restore communications to impacted areas. The 9-1-1 system is working and all calls are being answered.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ASPECT plane has assessed 28 of the 80 facilities identified for aerial assessments. ASPECT, which stands for Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology, is the equipment mounted in a small aircraft that can obtain detailed chemical information from a safe distance. Additionally, 84 facilities that could pose a risk to human life or the environment have been evaluated.
An EPA coordinator has responded to a reported release of an estimated 1 million gallons of phosphoric acid/water into the Houston ship channel in Pasadena, Texas. Response crews are working to neutralize the release.

Tuesday, Sept. 16:

Providing housing resources to individuals and families who have been displaced because of Ike is one of FEMA's top priorities. Under the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, the agency is providing temporary lodging in hotels for all eligible Ike victims. In the coming week FEMA will install the first of hundreds of manufactured homes for displaced Texans.
USACE contractors are working under the direction of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to clear mountains of debris from roads.
The president signs Amendment 3 to the disaster declaration, guaranteeing 100 percent federal reimbursement for the cost of debris removal in eligible areas until Sept. 26.

Wednesday, Sept. 17:

Search and rescue teams, reporting no new rescues, say they expect to wrap up operations in the next two days. Power has been restored to six more hospitals, reducing to 21 the number running on generators.
FEMA urges evacuees to be patient and to wait for local officials to indicate that essential services have been restored and that it is safe to return home. Residents in the affected areas are reminded that power, water, sewage disposal and medical assistance may be limited in the aftermath of the storm.
In the Houston area and in many other communities, power and water are being restored and stores are reopening. As restoration of services in these areas allows residents to get back on their feet, assistance and recovery operations will focus on those who cannot return home and who are most in need.
Tens of thousands of Texans affected by the hurricane are getting meals, water, ice and other vital commodities at 65 points of distribution (PODs) throughout the disaster area. FEMA continues to supply ice, water, meals and other essential items.
Some 32,000 people remain in shelters around the disaster area. FEMA announces that long-term recovery is already the focus of activities in Galveston and other coastal communities, as well as for their residents who evacuated to other locations.

Thursday, Sept. 18:

The Red Cross and other volunteer agencies have developed resources to deliver 434,000 meals per day. Additionally the Red Cross is staffing 15 kitchens around the state.
Ahead of a possible need to place eligible homeowners in manufactured housing, FEMA Individual Assistance specialists are working with the state of Texas to confirm the locations of existing mobile home parks in the region.
The private sector reports it is working to get power restored to gasoline stations, especially in the greater Houston area where about 55 percent of stations are closed.

Friday, Sept. 19:

USACE launches the Blue Roof program, installing the first of 26,244 heavy plastic sheets that will be provided to residents at no cost under the program. FEMA also is providing thousands of free tarps to residents who wish to protect their own roofs and other property.
The first four Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) open to provide direct assistance to Hurricane Ike victims. There also are two Mobile Registration Intake Centers open in Galveston County to make it easy for Texans in those areas to register for federal assistance.

Saturday, Sept. 20:

In just one week, more than 438,000 individuals or families have registered with FEMA for Individual Assistance. With housing inspections well under way, the agency has received more than 200,000 requests for inspections.
The state of Texas says it plans to begin closing PODS in areas where power has been restored and area grocery stores reopened. The reduction in the number of PODs not only is a positive sign in the recovery process, it also supports local businesses.
The number of emergency shelters has been reduced to 175 and their total population has dropped to about 18,000.
USACE contractors, working under TxDOT, are laboring to clear millions of cubic yards of debris left by the storm.
FEMA is paying for the temporary hotel stays of nearly 10,000 individuals and families.
Power has been restored at about 600,000 locations.
Nine disaster recovery centers are open in Harris, Orange, Hardin and other counties, with five more set to open Sept. 22.
Meanwhile, FEMA already has approved nearly $6.9 million in assistance to Ike victims for housing and other needs.

That was Week One of the Hurricane Ike response and the initiation of short-term recovery as FEMA and its partners moved from providing for emergency survival to the restoration of vital services and the clean-up of hazardous debris and materials.
In the weeks following the hurricane, presidential amendments to the disaster declaration added additional counties to those qualifying for assistance.

In all, 50 Texas counties and one tribal nation became eligible for Public Assistance from FEMA. A total of 34 counties qualified for Individual Assistance. The counties designated for assistance in the presidentially declared disaster area cover nearly 42,000 square miles. That is almost the size of the entire state of Tennessee.

THREE MONTHS AFTER IKE: RECOVERY PROGRESSES

Three months after Ike crashed ashore over Texas' upper Gulf Coast, recovery had progressed as displaced Texans relocated to temporary housing and other short-term needs were met. The progress achieved was the result of a joint effort, not just by the state of Texas, FEMA and its federal partners.

A vital role also was played by Texas' state and federal lawmakers, by local mayors, judges and other officials in the cities and towns across the disaster area, and by the hundreds of thousands of Texans who attempted to help themselves and their neighbors recover from the storm.

For example, all five judges in the hardest hit counties of Galveston, Harris, Chambers, Orange and Jefferson signed waiver letters authorizing FEMA to place manufactured homes in the 100-year floodplain. Dozens of mayors and other local officials in towns around the region also signed waiver letters. This proactive step allowed FEMA and the state to move forward with plans to put displaced Texans into manufactured homes while their homes are being repaired.

Additionally, state and local authorities worked closely with FEMA to determine the kind of help that was needed in the state and in the many disaster-affected communities. FEMA coordinated the federal efforts and disbursed federal funds, but the effort to help Texas recover from Ike was, and continues to be, a true partnership.

During the initial three months of recovery, all of FEMA's partners at the federal level poured resources into the recovery effort:

The EPA provided assistance to state agencies in Texas for the recovery of orphan drums, which are large containers of waste and potentially toxic chemicals that were scattered throughout the disaster area by the storm. In all, some 58,000 orphan drums were recovered. The EPA also helped in the collection of thousands of household hazardous waste containers.
SBA customer service representatives provided door-to-door service to more than 5,000 homeowners, renters and businesses to explain the SBA low-interest disaster loan program. This is in addition to personnel at SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Centers and SBA staff at Disaster Recovery Centers. The SBA also granted more than $416 million in disaster loans.
The American Red Cross served more than 3.6 million meals and 4.5 million snacks in the aftermath of the hurricane. The Red Cross also deployed more than 6,400 workers, 96 percent of them volunteers, to support hurricane relief efforts in Texas. In all, the Red Cross opened 235 shelters and hosted more than 217,000 overnight stays for Texans in need of a safe place to rest.
From the very beginning, AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) members from around the country were on the scene to assist with the response and recovery effort. These young people, aged 18-24, first performed heavy-duty tasks, such as unloading trucks, assisting at shelters and clearing debris. As efforts shifted from response to recovery, hundreds of AmeriCorps members performed such functions as staffing Disaster Recovery Centers, contacting landlords regarding rental resources for displaced Texans and conducting phone interviews with applicants who needed temporary housing.
On Nov. 1, 2008, HUD began implementing its temporary Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) to assist families displaced by Ike. The program was implemented to provide temporary housing assistance to thousands of displaced individuals and families until March 2010.
To help alleviate constraints in fuel supplies as a result of Ike's affect on vital energy resources in the Gulf and the Houston area, DOE facilitated the emergency exchange of nearly 5.4 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. DOE also staffed its Emergency Response Center around the clock to monitor real-time data on energy supplies in the Gulf Coast region.
As the recovery process progressed, the DOE also put staff on the ground to provide support for FEMA's Direct Housing Operations. DOE coordinated with three major power distribution companies to get manufactured homes connected to electricity.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Administration (HHS) took charge of looking out for the welfare of young and old Texans by providing disaster case management and other services for victims of Ike.
Among the many contributions of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), hydrologists collected water samples to determine the water quality in areas where there had been significant intrusion of salt water.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extended tax filing and payment deadlines for Texans affected by Ike. IRS employees were assigned to provide tax information and assistance at Disaster Recovery Centers around the disaster area.

Last Modified: Saturday, 02-May-2009 14:21:38 EDT