Bush heads to Texas as Galvestonians urged to leave

[maddezmom]

Source: CNN

NEW: President will inspect hurricane damage in Galveston, Texas

NEW: Flooding fears on Missouri, Mississippi rivers

Aftermath of Hurricane Ike "worse than storm itself," Galveston mayor says

GALVESTON, Texas (CNN) -- President Bush heads to hurricane-ravaged south Texas on Tuesday with a message that the federal government will be there with aid and support.


Debris from Hurricane Ike is piled against storefronts in Galveston, Texas, on Monday.

1 of 3 more photos » "My message will be that we hear you, and we'll work as hard and fast as we can to help you get your lives back up to normal," Bush said Monday.

With Bush on the way to Texas, city leaders in Galveston were urging those who rode out the storm on the barrier island to leave immediately.

There's not enough clean drinking water to serve the needs of the 15,000 to 20,000 people who stayed on the island, City Manager Steve LeBlanc said Monday, and there would be a "downward spiral if everybody started coming back."

The city's resources are "stretched to the max," and it could be a month before electricity is restored. The cleanup will be massive, he said, and the city is "unsafe."

"Sometimes the aftermath of the storm is worse than the storm itself," Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said. "There's nothing to come here for right now. ... Please leave."



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/16/hurricane.ike/index.html

---

Galveston officials restrict media access

05:42 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 16, 2008

By Rhiannon Meyers / The Daily News

GALVESTON — Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas on Monday ordered all city employees not to talk to news reporters. She did not say when that order would be lifted.

Thomas and City Manager Steve LeBlanc will be the only officials allowed to talk to reporters. City spokeswoman Mary Jo Naschke vehemently denied the city was trying to clamp down on coverage.

~snip~

It’s the worst thing the city could do. Those who will suffer most are evacuees,” Publisher Dolph Tillotson said in a statement via text message. “The media will have to turn to other sources that might be less reliable. I can’t imagine a dumber move under these extreme circumstances.”

more:http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080916_tnt_galveston_media.7f735fbe.html

[Solly Mack]

1. he can take his 'I care' tour and shove it up his ass

[MuseRider]

3. "I care" tour.

Good one.

On the plus side, he was supposed to be visiting my city today so now he is not. There were protests scheduled. Now we just get Laura. I doubt anything will be planned for her.

I guess we dodged that bullet. Poor Galveston, he is just all they need right now.

[Solly Mack]

6. When I first read the article all I could think of is how America is dying from shame

if nothing else (and there is more than shame killing America)

Still...the man is a blight.

[VWolf]

2. Galvestonians urged to leave as Bush heads to Texas

There. I fixed your title.

[Xipe Totec]

4. Uh, George, Katrina victims are still homeless

Do you hear them too?

[DS1]

5. "the federal government will be there with aid and support"

We're From the Government and We're Here to Help

[Mojorabbit]

7. Something is terribly wrong here

If I lived there I would be beside myself wanting to know what was happening in my hometown.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

8. "An' Galveston, yer doin' a heck of a job playin' the cards you've been dealt..."

"Y'know, Galveston, life is unfair, but yer gonna bounce back stronger. I can't wait to sip a cool iced tea on Trent Lott's porch. What's that? He doesn't live in Galveston? OK, scratch that last remark, heh heh heh. But I still say yer gonna bounce back. Stronger. I mean that."

:eyes:

[uppityperson]

9. k&r for "don't talk to the press" bs

[kayell]

10. Run AWAY! Bush is coming! AIEEEEEE!

[kayell]

11. dupe

[maddezmom]

12. TxDOT: I-45 snarl blocking relief workers from Galveston

TxDOT: I-45 snarl blocking relief workers from Galveston
By RAD SALLEE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

The Texas Department of Transportation said today that relief workers were having trouble entering Galveston because Interstate 45 was blocked by residents trying to return home.

"Our resources are not able to get through," said TxDOT spokeswoman Raquelle Lewis. "We have National Guard sitting in traffic, we have our crews sitting in traffic, we have FEMA resources sitting in traffic."

Shortly before noon, the line of cars stretched two miles north from a checkpoint at Texas 519 in La Marque, where non-essential traffic was being diverted, Lewis said.

The flood apparently was prompted when Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas made an exception to the ban on entering Galveston, she said. Those who can prove residency may make a "look and leave" visit to the island from noon to 6 p.m. to inspect damage to their homes, but must leave afterward, Lewis said.

more:http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6004648.html

[ohio2007]

15. Bolivar devastated, no longer a peninsula ( islands missing )

BOLIVAR PENINSULA — What was Bolivar Peninsula is now three separate islands, and most homes there were destroyed.

“It’s no longer Bolivar Peninsula,” State Rep. Craig Eiland of Galveston said. “It’s an island times three. The roads are cut, and the bridges are out. Residents won’t be back anytime soon.”

No bodies have been found, but officials said the situation was grim.

“I’m not Pollyanna,” County Judge Jim Yarborough said. “I think we’ll find some. We certainly expect to find some.”

Yarborough said emergency crews were on the ground. He urged the remaining 300 residents to leave on emergency boats and helicopters.

By next week, sheriff’s deputies will institute marshal law, forcing remaining residents out of the area.

Transportation to the area is cut off. The Bolivar Ferry will be down for months. There is no estimate on when the service will return.



http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=440b36f1cdece4f0

Galveston radio coverage;

http://www.ktrh.com/cc-common/streaming_new/index.html?refreshed=yes

the area has been deeply scrubbed. Talk radio suggest checking Google Satellite for people who want to see what their homes look like right now but I only see pre storm images

"Stay clear of Galveston Island" is the phrase of the day.


Houston TV coverage
http://www.maroonspoon.com/wx/ike.html

Camera phones uploading to the net by "citizen journalists" is going to be the best way to view the barrier islands on a personal level.

[maddezmom]

13. Galveston officials: Feds blocking generators at jail

Sept. 16, 2008, 11:59AM
Share Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzGALVESTON — Frustration was brewing at the Galveston County jail this morning, but not from the inmates.

Dudley Anderson — the architect of the Galveston County Justice Center, which includes the jail, courts and law enforcement offices — said the Federal Emergency Managment Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are letting rule books get in the way of supplying generators and, thus, air flow to the estimated 1,000 inmates in the jail.

"We've been trying to get some power hooked up inside the justice center," Anderson said. "There's a small one in there now, but they need power."

While President Bush was inside the facility talking with officials this morning, Anderson and other contractors were outside complaining that the government is getting in the way.

Anderson said the only generator in the jail this morning was supplying a small operator area. He had another generator ready to help a bit with air flow, but the large generators expected from the federal government are what he's frustrated about.

MORE:http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6004686.html

[radfringe]

14. Whenever I see that particular headline, I have this image in my head

of two people in Galveston - let's call them bob and ralph

Bob: did you evacuate?

Ralph: no, not gonna let a hurricane drive me out

bob: me neither, didn't evacuate with that katrina and rita either

ralph: yeah, I stayed put too

enter Jean, Bob's wife: I just heard on the radio that bush is coming to visit

ralph and bob look at each other: Hurricanes is one thing - bush is another, come on we're evacuating

[wordpix]

16. the "we hear you" meme is from the 911 photo op on the Pile

Our "savior" is here, folks. everything is fine. :sarcasm: