Lessons from Ike.

We all took a risk when we moved to the island, and we have been very lucky so far.   The paths of Ike, Katrina, and other major storms, deviated from early predictions, and hit somewhere else.   

Nevertheless, when Ike was in the neighborhood, the water in our canals covered the PIYC and other decks.  The rising water at the club cut off electricity to the docks, and cost us around $500  in repairs.   Augie Wagner supplied the photo below.

Had it risen another 5 ft. (actually 64"...... Yes, I measured it !) most of us on the island would have been paddling in our kitchens.   And that was a Category 2 storm hitting almost 200 miles away!

Ike has done significant damage to the Galveston area, especially the unincorporated area of Crystal Beach, on the Bolivar Peninsula.  This peninsula is remarkably similar to our island.   Our local paper showed us some before and after pictures of Crystal Beach, but neglected to do any investigative journalism, and give any analysis relating the plight of the unfortunate residents to what could happen here.   

What can we learn about our own island from the events at Crystal Beach?

The Similarities.

Both are barrier sand bars, about the same width, and the same average height above sea level, around 3-4 ft.   Crystal Beach homes are (were!) mainly elevated on stilts near the beach, or, as in our development, built on mounds towards the intracoastal waterway, and in the canal areas.   Crystal Beach has highway 87 running parallel to the gulf beach, very similar to our Park Rd. 22.    To the west of 87,  there are canal developments that open to the intracoastal,  ICW.     Is this starting to sound familiar?    View Crystal Beach Map.    Hwy 87 was 3000 ft.  from the beach, and 1.1 miles to the ICW.     In the section Bob Hall Pier to Whitecap,  Park Rd. 22 is 2000 ft to the beach and the ICW is 2 miles.   Cruiser is only 2700 ft from the beach.

The Differences.

Crystal Beach has no area protected by a seawall, as we have near the Holiday Inn.   Airborne laser measurements (lidar) show the dune area on Crystal Beach to have been only around 3-4 ft:.......... effectively there were no dunes.  Look at the Google Earth image of the dune front at Crystal Beach.   These are exactly the same houses as shown on the front page of the Caller Times.

There was no protection for those first rows of houses.   Most of our dunes average around 9 ft., except where have wisely (?) cut through them to allow beach traffic at all beach access roads .

The destroyed homes on Crystal Beach were built on stilts with little concrete protecting the footings from erosion, although many seemed to be knocked off the pilings by waves.

 Further, they were built on the flat low-lying sand.    Survivors report that their homes fell over due to the wave action.      To see a typical house 1500 ft from the beach, before Ike came,  click here. 

What happened in Crystal Beach?

Very few of the homes remaining in Crystal Beach show any wind damage; it was the surge that got them!

The type of house destroyed in Crystal Beach  is more typical of Port Aransas than our development.   It is interesting to note that the surviving house arrowed in the Caller Times, was built sometime after 2006 when the Google Earth pictures were taken.   Most other houses were decades old.   This probably shows an effect of stricter modern building codes.

Aerial photographs taken by the USGS after Ike, show significant erosion from the beach over Hwy 87, and survivors report wading through chest deep water along Hwy 87.  (see http://www.khou.com/video/topstories-index.html?nvid=282612 )

I have not been able to find accurate information on the height of the storm surge on the ICW side of the Bolivar Peninsula, where the canal front homes are located, however aerial photos show them to be intact, but with debris in their lots.    Tide meters on Galveston Bay went off-scale, and failed, at 10 ft..  Local Houston TV news has reported 14 ft.  

 It was reported in our local paper that in Galveston, south of Crystal Beach, homes were flooded by the surge coming from the bay side of the island.   The famous sea wall might have stopped the big waves, but not the water.  It sounds like the Maginot Line all over again, so, we can't rely on our dunes, or our limited seawall to stop flooding.   They would help minimize the wave erosion seen at Crystal Beach, but they would not limit surge flooding.

I hope they took out flood insurance, as it appears that all homes on the peninsula took water, and the homes within 3000 ft . of the beach suffered damaging  impact from waves on the gulf..

What does this mean for us.

We have few buildings of the kind that suffered the publicized damage from the waves at Crystal Beach.   Ours are typically built on a 'mound', with a concrete slab, and are not built as close to the gulf beaches, as they were in Crystal Beach.   Further we have significant dunes to mitigate the pummeling of the waves, at least in the period before the dunes are eroded.

The wind damage should have been minimal, as it was on Crystal Beach, and on South Padre Is. when Category 2 Dolly hit.   Our homes should be able to withstand the wind velocities of  a Category 2 hurricane, however in the future we can expect stronger storms, and wind damage would escalate.

 Our bay in Corpus Christi showed a maximum tide surge of 6ft when Ike was demolishing Crystal Beach with a reported 14 ft. surge.    Math majors will note that 14 - 6 exceeds the 64" measured above.  

Had Ike not deviated from his earlier course, there is little doubt that, most of our homes on our island would have been flooded inside to a depth at least a foot, but probably 3 -4 ft. due to the surge, plus the wave action on the Laguna Madre.   Perhaps the wave action would not have been strong enough to demolish our homes, but the surge would certainly have flooded them.  

Imagine your home after salt water had been 3 ft deep inside.   Electricity would likely be cut for a week or two, so how do you dry out?  Interior sheetrock, insulation, carpets, furniture, appliances and exterior AC units, would all have to be scrapped, and replaced.  Freezers would be full of  food spoiling in 90F temperatures, adding to the aroma of rotting sea grass on your prized area rug.

More importantly, we should also note that  the Bolivar surge preceded the landfall of Ike, and many people who intended to leave were trapped.   Our streets are much lower than our homes, so we too could be trapped by the quietly rising water.   Park Road 22 would already be impassable by heavy truck by the time water started to enter our homes, so don't delay evacuation.

And this was a mere category 2 !

Kevin Brown

Information Director / Web Apprentice.

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