What happens if we lose a SECOND major US city to a Hurricane?

[benburch]

Right now it looks like Rita will make landfall at Galveston, possibly at Cat 5. A lot of uncertainty there yet, but that is what it looks like 72 hours out.

If we were to lose Galveston, and any significant the refinery capacity there, could the US economy survive? And would we be able to supply enough heating oil to keep people from freezing to death this winter?

And would this country finally be forced to realize that CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions must be curbed?

[Birthmark]

1. The economy would be cooked imo...

...if refineries north of Galveston suffer appreciable damage. Hell, the economy is only held together right now by spit, reckless credit policies, and a kind of stupid optimism. A REAL disruption in refining capacity for any amount of time would crash the economy. And there are so many, many things wrong in our economy that I can't even begin to figure out how we bounce back.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Makes ya wish we had weaned ourselves from oil back during the Carter

years.

[Birthmark]

5. Or that the Republicans had...

...exercised the slightest bit of fiscal restraint that they used to blather on about when the Dems were in charge. As it is, we've got no reserves - nationally, or as individuals. It's absolutely crazy!

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. ayuh. For "conservatives" they suck eggs at preparing for the worst

[bluestateguy]

2. I am cautiously optimistic that that will not happen

I know that doom and gloom is popular on message boards, but I just have to believe that that will not happen. Galveston is not a major city. Houston is farther inland and better equipped to handle hurricanes than New Orleans.

[benburch]

17. Galveston is not a major city???

Tell that to the oil and chemical industry.

[lastliberalintexas]

18. Galveston does not have any refineries

There are many in the general area, of course, but none actually in Galveston. Be more worried about gas prices if you start to hear them talk about towns like Port Arthur, Baytown, Corpus and Deer Park.

And while Galveston is a very nice town, it does only have about 60,000 residents.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. We are on the edge of a great depresion

Katrina alone may send us down, two cities, another 200-300 B and the economic effect... I don't want to think about it, but the effect will be oh shall we say historic...

[mnhtnbb]

6. And the Fed raised interest rates again today

They are worried about inflation.

[leftofthedial]

7. bushturd gets to play hero again

unka dick gets richer

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. lets see if this time he finds he bull horn

mommy, mommy where is my bullhorn?

Under the bed honey

Mommy can you find me a big fire man and a building?

That was in 2001 son....

but mommy I'm afraid of the water!

Go on vacation son...

[Birthmark]

11. Nope

Not likely.

[kestrel91316]

10. We'll just have to do a lot of PRAYIN', ya know.

[TexasLawyer]

12. Houston is just 40 miles inland from Galveston

It's the 4th largest city in the country, too-- a major center for industry including HQs for numerous energy and pipeline companies.

We had massive flooding a few years back, and at that time we were just hit by a tropical storm.

I've got a personal interest in this, since Houston is where I live. I just went out to buy some groceries and the mega-store shelves were BARE of water, bread, batteries, and all the other things that come in handy when your city's infrastructure is destroyed.

Feeling a little verklempt here!

[SaintLouisBlues]

13. Be careful, and if you haven't seen this from the Chronicle in February:

Models show 'massive devastation' in Houston
Damages could cost up to $50 billion -- 10 times Allison's cost
By ERIC BERGER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle


SPECIAL REPORT
• Are we ready? If the big one hits, what will happen in the Houston-Galveston area?

Houston's perfect storm would feed on late summer's warm waters as it barreled northward across the Gulf of Mexico, slamming into the coast near Freeport.

A landfall here would allow its powerful upper-right quadrant, where the waves move in the same direction as the storm, to overflow Galveston Bay. Within an hour or two, a storm surge, topping out at 20 feet or more, would flood the homes of 600,000 people in Harris County. The surge also would block the natural drainage of flooded inland bayous and streams for a day or more.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3046592

[TexasLawyer]

15. OMG!!!

That's quite the scenario. I hate it when winds roil around my home. I also really try to avoid 20-foot storm surges where possible.

It may be time to take that trip to Des Moines I've been thinking about!

[txindy]

14. I don't blame you for feeling more than uneasy.

With everyday traffic being what it is in Houston, evacuating that city with everyone at once would be a nightmare. Please take care. :hug:

[rainbow4321]

20. I remember seeing people trapped on their roofs for 24 hrs

back when Allison rolled thru your city. And that damage was nothing compared to what looks will happen now. Of course, as it was with Katrina, the MEDIA made it to these people just fine..so we had aerial shots of them from the news helicopters. No rescue/military copters in sight.
Oh, and a tidbit from a Dallas paper: FEMA *still* owes Houston $3 million for the Allison damage. Nice how if we are late with any utility bills, they get shut off...FEMA is $3 mil/4 yrs late and it's not a problem.

[drfresh]

16. Then the dems better start hammering global warming.

Then again, why aren't they doing it now? Science is on our side...

[rainbow4321]

19. 40% of US refining capacity within 3 county area.

According to someone who posted at the wunderground.com blog...they also asked if the Nuke plant that is North of Matagorda bay will be shut down.


http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=131&tstamp=200509#commenttop

2:59 AM GMT on September 21, 2005:
"40% of US refining capacity within 3 county area. Harris-Houston. Galveston and Brazoria-Freeport."

---------------

Good website for tracking all of this, BTW.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/index.html?range=updated

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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/05/rita/3362796

There are 10 refineries in the Houston area representing as much as 13 percent of the nation's refining capacity. These facilities and countless chemical plants, located on the bays and bayous in Harris and Galveston counties, are at risk from storm surges like those that came with Katrina.

One worst-case scenario modeled by Houston engineering firm Dodson & Associates predicts that a Category 5 storm coming ashore near Freeport could send a wind-driven surge of water up Galveston Bay and into the Ship Channel. Such a storm would swamp many of these facilities, according to the study. The city is home to the nation's largest refinery, Exxon Mobil's Baytown facility, which processes 557,000 barrels a day.

Hurricane Rita may not pack the same punch as the storm envisioned in the study, and Houston is not below sea level like most of New Orleans. But with four refineries still out because of damage from Katrina, any lost capacity could add to high gasoline prices.

"People think there was a national impact from Katrina," said Chris Johnson, president of Dodson & Assoc. "But if a storm that size hits here it will be a bigger deal."

[Zynx]

24. Well, that's just dumb.

Why the hell do we do such stupid shit in this country?

[RedCloud]

21. Any chance Crawford, Texas could be moved to the coastline?

There is a particular ranch there that definitely needs its comeuppance.

[benburch]

23. Not a ranch, a pig farm...

And when its owner visits, it is STILL a pig farm.

[htuttle]

22. If it hits Galveston directly, our CO2 output WILL be curbed

There won't be any gas. We'll have no choice.

If you don't deal with problems, eventually they deal with you!

Consider how much less CO2 will be produced when most of our coastal cities are under water. Global warming due to our CO2 output IS self-correcting to an extent, but not the way we'd prefer...