Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

The Ike Floodgate

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We have a recommendation for how to prepare for a future Hurricane Ike. A giant floodgate at the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel, coupled with a 130-mile wetlands recreation area, should be built to protect Houston from hurricane storm … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Ike Floodgate

More Perry privatization problems

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Insert your favorite cliche about being shocked. The state of Texas has quietly outsourced the management of more than $1 billion in federal disaster recovery funds to an engineering firm with close ties to Gov. Rick Perry’s administration, paying the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on More Perry privatization problems

Hurricane season is mostly behind us

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Normally, this would be considered good news. Ironically, even as the Atlantic tropics reach their peak and Texas marks the anniversaries of 1961’s Hurricane Carla on Sunday and 2008’s Hurricane Ike next Tuesday, chances of a hurricane making landfall on … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Hurricane season is mostly behind us

Friday random ten: Blowin’ in the wind

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Those of us here on the Gulf Coast are quite familiar with hurricanes and all they can bring with them, so we have much sympathy for those on the East Coast who are in the path of Hurricane Irene. Whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Time for the annual “Are we ready for a big storm?” story

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The answer, of course, is no, not really. After Tropical Storm Allison’s devastating floods, the Houston area widened its bayous and hardened its infra­structure. After Hurricane Rita’s deadly gridlock, the state revamped storm communications and evacuation plans. Yet since Hurricane … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Time for the annual “Are we ready for a big storm?” story

Time for the annual “We’re in for a busy hurricane season” forecast

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And indeed, forecasters say we are in for another active year, as was the case last year. Here’s SciGuy with some discussion. [S]easonal forecasters did a pretty good job of calling last year’s extraordinarily active season. So while there’s no … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Time for the annual “We’re in for a busy hurricane season” forecast

Hurricane Alex

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Stay safe, everyone. Heavy downpours and possible coastal flooding are forecast for the next few days in the Houston area as Hurricane Alex churns in the Gulf of Mexico and then slams ashore along the northern Mexican coast south of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Hurricane Alex

Ike Dike gets a study

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The “Ike Dike”, a network of dikes and gates off the coast of Galveston that was first proposed last year by William Merrell as protection against storm surges from future hurricanes, is being discussed more seriously by the Gulf Coast … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Active hurricane season predicted

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Hurricane season officially begins today, and it looks like it will be a busy one. As we have previously discussed, there’s ample reason to expect a very active hurricane season this year. And so it wasn’t too surprising this morning … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Active hurricane season predicted

AAUP criticizes UTMB for post-Ike layoffs

Posted on May 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston and the University of Texas System (UTS) violated established and widely accepted guidelines on academic freedom and tenure when it laid off more than 2,400 faculty and staff in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on AAUP criticizes UTMB for post-Ike layoffs

What Katrina crime wave?

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So remember how there was this big increase in crime in Houston in the months after Katrina evacuees arrived here? Well, it turns out that the crime data indicates otherwise. Five criminologists who reviewed crime statistics published a study in … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

More or stronger?

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If we’re talking about hurricanes, neither sounds like an attractive choice. A new study with the most extensive computer modeling of storm activity to date suggests the overall number of Atlantic storms will fall 30 percent by century’s end, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Better days ahead for UTMB

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is not only coming back, it’s growing. Although the UT Board of Regents authorized 3,800 layoffs, UTMB officials announced that about 3,000 jobs would be cut. The actual number turned out to … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Better days ahead for UTMB

Bye bye, hurricane season

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

More like this next year would be nice. The Atlantic hurricane season ended Monday with barely a whimper: Not a single hurricane came ashore in the United States. Since June, when the season began, just nine named storms developed. Only … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Bye bye, hurricane season

Galveston Shriners Hospital now open

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Galveston Shriners Hospital, which was closed down after Hurricane Ike and was set to reopen on Monday after a long battle to bring it back, has opened its doors a few days early. Kudos to all involved for getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Galveston Shriners Hospital now open

Shriners Hospital reopens next month

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in July, delegates at the national Shriners convention voted to reopen the burn hospital for children in Galveston. The date to reopen has now been set for November. The hospital, a world leader in burn research and source of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The end is near for hurricane season

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One of the better things about the onset of fall is the threat of a hurricane greatly diminishes. To be fair, more than two months remain before the official end of hurricane season on Nov. 30, and the seas remain … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The end is near for hurricane season

UTMB’s comeback

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is great to see. A bigger and better University of Texas Medical Branch is rising from the debris of Hurricane Ike, with more than $1 billion in repair, refurbishing and new construction under way or being planned. The UT … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A year after Ike

Posted on September 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One year after Hurricane Ike made landfall over Galveston, the news is surprisingly positive for the island, though many challenges still remain. The Lege helped Galveston in a number of ways for this year, such as requiring UT to reopen … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

New beach boundaries

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We have a new vegetation line, which determines where the public beach ends and private property begins, courtesy of Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. The line will determine whether beachfront property owners whose buildings were destroyed by Ike on Sept. 13 … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ike Dike update

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As the first Atlantic tropical storms of the year make their appearance, we get an update on the proposed Ike Dike. One of Hurricane Ike’s legacies may be the hardening of the upper Texas coast against hurricane storm surges. Within … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brought to you by…

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

People don’t like it when you mess with their icons. Public fury over a proposal to rename an iconic seawall park after a snack chip led Frito-Lay to ask Galveston County commissioners to halt the renaming process, a Frito-Lay spokeswoman … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Brought to you by…

Still waiting on Rita aid

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m appalled by this. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs has spent about a third of the federal funds it received to help low-income residents rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Rita almost four years ago, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Still waiting on Rita aid

Too quiet?

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been very quiet on the hurricane front so far this year – not a single named storm in the Atlantic as yet. The good news, as SciGuy notes, is that this means the projections for the number of named … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Too quiet?

The Ike baby boom bust

Posted on August 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Remember this Chron story from May? Doctors who work in Houston’s busiest maternity ward say they’re expecting an especially bustling June, leading some to conclude that Hurricane Ike was the perfect storm for making babies. It’s been eight months since … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Hurricane season quiet so far

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That’s nice, but it doesn’t mean we’re in good shape. Although the first Atlantic named storm typically forms by July 10, the real activity doesn’t usually begin until August, and a lull in early season activity doesn’t necessarily presage a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Hurricane season quiet so far

Shriners Hospital in Galveston to reopen

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Delegates at the national Shriners convention meeting in San Antonio voted Monday to reopen a world-renowned burn hospital for children in Galveston, closed since it was damaged by Hurricane Ike in September. Convention delegates voted to keep open … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Planting vegetation against the tide

Posted on June 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose there’s more than one way to try to save your beachfront property. In Texas, a thin green line in the sand separates private property from public beach. And that line of vegetation is drawn by Mother Nature. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

UTMB to open emergency room

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome. The University of Texas Medical Branch is scheduled to open a full-service emergency room Aug. 1 for the first time since Hurricane Ike inundated its campus more than eight months ago, relieving pressure on overburdened emergency rooms throughout the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

See you later, alligator

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We all know how much Hurricane Ike has affected and continues to affect people and property. I at least had no idea how devastating it had been to the state’s alligator population. The throaty bellow of adult male alligators, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Near normal” hurricane season

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Better than a highly active season, I guess. With the Atlantic hurricane season drawing near, the last of a growing number of storm prognosticators, Uncle Sam, chimed in Thursday with its predictions. Federal forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , | Comments Off on “Near normal” hurricane season

Windstorm insurance bill passes House committee

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned the prospect of a special session several times lately. One of the issues that could be the cause of a special session is windstorm insurance, as the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association took it on the chin last year … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Windstorm insurance bill passes House committee

Ike, Ike, baby

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know why I hadn’t seen this story coming. In retrospect, it seems so obvious. Doctors who work in Houston’s busiest maternity ward say they’re expecting an especially bustling June, leading some to conclude that Hurricane Ike was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Windstorm insurance changes

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you live near the coast, get ready to pay more for windstorm insurance. Coastal residents insured by the state windstorm fund could see increases of 5 percent per year for the next three years under a bill passed Thursday … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Windstorm insurance changes