Rock it like a hurricane!

• Please get your interactive notebook.

• Please read the board!

Were you here for Hurricane Ike? What do you remember about it?

September 13, 2008Ike passed over Galveston Island

• Killing approximately 48 people (exact # is still unknown)• Causing $30 Billion dollars in damage• Plus many hidden costs• Damaging ecosystems and wildlife habitats• Devastating our vulnerable (poor, elderly) populations

much more than others

• Demonstrating the region’s vulnerabilities• Triggering the need for surge protection

http://sspeed.rice.edu/sspeed/downloads/SSPEED_Interim_Report_2010.pdf

Let’s back this up a bit . . . . .

WHY WOULD A WARMER WORLD CREATE MORE FREQUENT AND MORE INTENSE HURRICANES?

Video Hurricanes require:

•1. Warm waters•2. Evaporated water from ocean

•3. Wind patterns that start to spiral inwards

Hurricanes in the northern half of the Atlantic Ocean have become stronger over the last few decades. This graph shows the Power Dissipation Index, which measures total hurricane power each year based on the number of hurricanes and their wind speed. The graph also shows how hurricane strength is related to water temperature. Source: EPA's Climate Change Indicators (2012).

Check for understanding!

•Why will a warmer climate cause more hurricanes?

The Houston/Galveston Region

• Is home to about 2 Million people and may double by 2050

• Galveston Bay provides valuable ecosystem services • Supports largest petrochemical complex in US• Port of Houston alone generates over $118 Billion in

economic activity annually• Houston area Industry/Economy is much more

important nationally than New Orleans where $14B is being spent on surge suppression

Regional Threats and Vulnerabilities

•Affected by a major storm about every 15 years•Surges are channeled up the Bay•Considerable infrastructure near sea level •Large-scale evacuations are increasingly difficult •Especially for Hurricanes that quickly increase in intensity and/or change direction

•The Bay’s complex ecosystems of wetlands, oyster reefs, and fisheries can be effected by major storm events

Vulnerability of the Houston Ship Channel

• Environmental regulations for hazardous waste, oil spill contingency planning and wastewater plants require protection to the elevation of the one-hundred year flood plain as set out in FEMA flood plain maps.

• Typical flood plain elevations along the HSC range from 14-15 ft. above sea level. This is significantly lower than what is needed to protect the projected 20-25 ft. surge tide in a 100 year event.

Inundation Elevation (FT)

0-5

5-15

15-18

18-20

High risk elevations (low lying areas) along a section of the Houston Ship Channel

http://sspeed.rice.edu/sspeed/downloads/SSPEED_Interim_Report_2010.pdf

Had It Hit Farther West

•Many more lives lost•Billions more in damage•Perryman Report – “Katrina-like” storm would cause aggregate losses to Texas economy of $73B in gross product, $61.3B in income and 863,000 jobs

Possible Cat 4 Surge

Source: Dr. Gordon Wells, UTA

Check for understanding!

•Name three reasons a direct hurricane hit on our area would be a huge disaster.

•How would damage to our area affect the rest of the nation?

Proposed Ike Dike

Allows Bay shores to be natural

System can be leaky - unlike New Orleans

Only needs to hold maximum surge for a few hours

Designed for a 10,000 yr storm

Most Hurricane surges much smaller

Coastal Spine

Galveston Island

Bolivar Peninsula

Bolivar Roads

Intracoastal Waterway

• San Luis Pass

Existing Seawall

High Island

Houston Ship Channel

The overall strategy is to keep the ocean surge out of

Galveston Bay by using a coastal barrier (the Ike Dike)

similar to the Dutch Delta Works

Galveston Island

Bolivar Peninsula

Bolivar Roads

Intracoastal Waterway

• San Luis Pass

Existing Seawall

High Island

Houston Ship Channel

The first component of the Ike Dike already exists – the

Galveston Seawall

Galveston Seawall -17 foot tall fixed barrier

The Galveston Seawall has done it’s job preventing catastrophic Gulf overflow

But does not prevent back surge from the Bay

Galveston Island

Bolivar Peninsula

Bolivar Roads

Intracoastal Waterway

• San Luis Pass

Existing Seawall

High Island

Houston Ship Channel

The second component - Land Extensions of the

protection afforded by the Seawall

Design by Marie Garrett, Coastal Solutions Inc and Dr. Billy Edge. Texas A&M University .

Revetments can be hidden to look natural

Protection can also be by raised highwayCoastal highways could be raised 12 feet

Galveston Island

Bolivar Roads

San Luis Pass

Existing Seawall

High Island

Houston Ship Channel

The third component – Flood Gates

Bolivar Peninsula

Intracoastal Waterway

The Galveston Gates

• Galveston gates will be the costliest component of the Ike Dike and its biggest tourist attraction

• Must not impede navigation

• Must allow water circulation into the bay under normal conditions

• But close quickly when a hurricane approaches to provide a 17ft higher-than-sea-level barrier across Bolivar Roads

• Can we use existing technology?

A Bay circulation solution

Combining Gate designs, the Bolivar Roads portion of the Barrier can:

- allow navigation in the Ship Channels

- allow for circulation in Galveston Bay

Bolivar Roads

Galveston Island

Bolivar Peninsula

Bolivar Roads

Intracoastal Waterway

• San Luis Pass

Existing Seawall

High Island

Houston Ship Channel

All together it forms a coastal spine

But will “the Ike Dike”, suppress massive surges?

Simulations: Ike’s Surge without an Ike Dike - The University of Texas

Gordon Wells, Jennifer Profit, Clint Dawson

Simulations: Ike’s Surge with an Ike Dike - The University of Texas

Gordon Wells, Jennifer Profit, Clint Dawson

Simulations: Difference in Ike’s Surge with and without an Ike Dike

Gordon Wells, Jennifer Profit, Clint Dawson

Additional Characteristics

Allows Bay shores to be natural

System can be leaky - unlike New Orleans

Only needs to hold maximum surge for a few hours

Designed for a 10,000 yr storm

Most Hurricane surges much smaller

The Ike Dike

• Provides Comprehensive Protection from Storm Surge

• Protects People, Properties and Industrial Base for a Nationally Important Region

• Reduces Vulnerability – Will Encourage Economic Development through Investment in and Commitment to the Region

• Costs Much Less than a Single Hurricane Recovery ($2.4 billion vs. $30 Billion for Ike/$61 Billion for straight-on hit to Galveston)

• Costs Less than Individually Armoring the Entire Bay Complex

The Ike Dike (continued)

• Prevents Surge Damage to the Bay’s Natural Resources

• Is More Environmentally Sound than Armoring the Entire Bay Complex

• Best (and Perhaps Only) Way to Protect Our Less Resilient Populations

• Protects Lives – Especially During Difficult Evacuations from Hurricanes that Quickly Change Path or Intensity

Check for understanding!•What part of the Ike Dike already exists?

•Why would it be important to have gates that open and close between Galveston and Bolivar?

•What part of a hurricane’s impact would the Ike Dike protect us from?

Power up to research!

•What are the problems with this plan?

•Who opposes the plan?

Finish for homework•Who opposes the plan.•Why they oppose it (what the problem is)

•Your source of this information