By GottaLaff
One of our many astute Anonymi pointed me to this one:
The following is from an email sent to me by a good friend in Nacogdoches whose buddy has been over Galveston - names have been edited out to protect the folks those who relayed the report. Also relayed from this guy and others: persons going into the restricted area are apparently being patted down and cameras are being confiscated, by Army and Coast Guard personnel.
Okay...I've got some news on this front. Take it for what it's worth, but the guy I got it from is someone I trust to raise my children... He's never once lied to me...ever. And we're close.He's in a pretty high-up supervisory position for a refinery down on the coast.
His refinery has some equipment and lines in and around Galveston county, and before they were to bring them back on line he and his crew had to inspect the place for damage and potential hazards. So they were given permission....after a background check....to helicopter in and inspect, which meant coming in over Galveston.
I kid you not when I say that he told me they saw AT LEAST 1500 bodies in trees scattered about Galveston. They also saw a lot in various ditches and marshes, esp. on the north side of East Galv. Bay, east side of Trinity Bay, and in the marshes between I-45 and Seabrook/Clear Lake/Deer Park.
It explains why they're not letting the media anywhere close to the Island except in limited sectors nd we're not hearing anything from or about the people who survived and those who stayed behind. It's like 20,000 people never existed....where are they? Where'd they go? What are their names? Nothing....
Same thing in Orange county.
Take it for what it's worth....I believe him, though his count may be wrong given the shock of the sight. But like I said, I'd trust him to raise my kids.
I'd be more surprised if he were wrong than if he were right.
How sad is it that I'm no longer surprised by this kind of disturbing news?And from Rhiannon Myers of the Galveston Daily News comes this dispatch:
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.
......Reporters would be allowed on the island only if they had proper identification, Thomas said. She didn't clarify what that meant.
Reporters were also forbidden from visiting areas on the far West End, Thomas said. She did not explain why.
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46 comments:
I love our Commenters. Thank you Anon... whoever you are.
I can only hope this is a mistake... What a tragedy if true... Then again, why didn't these people leave when they had the chance. This is so sad. D.
i wonder if they'll use the same firm to clean up the bodies as they did in Katrina?
FEMA, La. outsource Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping scandals
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/FEMA_outsources_Katrina_body_count_to_firm_implicated_in_bodydumping_scan_0913.html
They can't hide 1500 (or whatever) dead people. They can't. If it's true, it's horribly sad, but the gov't can't hope that word or pictures won't get out. Seems to me that they could actually use it to their advantage the next time a hurricane rolls in: "people didn't heed the orders to evacuate and they died. Don't let this happen to your family." Instead, the message will be Galveston Island was devastated, homes washed out to sea, but the people who stayed didn't die...so the next time there's a fierce hurricane, your chances, if you stay put, are pretty good.
Covering it up would be the very worst thing they could do.
yeh those idiots who stayed!!
Those now choosing to remain on the island are mostly poor, homeless, sick and/or elderly.
The word here is large refrigerated morgues are on the way to our coast or maybe here already I don't know. My boyfriend was flying to Mexico earlier, he said it has been designated a "no-fly zone" and only federal government can make that assessment.
There are THOUSANDS unaccounted for, after the storm less than 3000 people were rescued from our coasts and 2000 people were moved from Galveston Island Sunday. As an estimated 104,000 people STAYED on the island during the storm only 2,000 was evacuated and NO ONE was given a choice. They could get on the bus or be arrested THOSE were the only choices given to the residents.
It is conceivable there could between 75,000 - 100,000 people dead from these areas, with ALL those staying on Crystal Beach has perished. The National Guard along with Coast Guard went to this area directly after the storm because it was hard hit, there was no seawall to protect them, the beach faced the Gulf but was surrounded by a basin. Before they were told not to report anything a 911 operator stated that around 8:05 pm a woman called saying she lives on Crystal Beach and the water was half-way up her second story (really three stories since it was on stilts) they were on their way to the attic and needed help. By then it was not safe to fly out in that weather but she did state she did not want to evacuate.
Also, drama in my subdivision, the police was looking to arrest a man for kidnapping his kids so some are hiding him. His reason, his dumb ass ex-wife lived on Bolivar Peninsular decided to stay through Ike so he went down there took his kids and moved them to safety. Some here are trying to find a judge to enter a temporary order to keep the kids safe. Since downtown is closed until further notice he is playing "find that house" but our security officer is a DPS trooper and got them to leave him alone at least until he can talk to a judge.
Kerry, I truly didn't mean it that way.
I was under the impression that FEMA had provided transportation for those who didn't have it and up here (New England) the word we got was that vitually everyone got out and those that stayed chose to rather than were pretty much forced to.
Yikes, Carol! We're not seeing those reports at all. They really have put a lid on it... :( I hope your generator lasts so you can keep letting people know what's going on.
Please tell me y'all are watching Hardball chris Mathews is on a roll
Chris you are correct, buses were sent to PICK THEM UP FROM THEIR HOMES so they had no reason to stay other than "to watch their stuff". They were told to call 211 or 311 give their address and tell the operator if they have special needs, that they can only bring ONE bag, no or one animal. After they picked up everyone the police drove down the streets letting them know about the evacuation also informing them they will be PICKED UP. They did this until it was longer safe to do so, for those staying they were telling them to write their SSN on their forearm to their bodies can be identified.
As to the first responders, they sent them without sustenance for them so people took them supplies from their homes or cooked them meals, ordered them pizza things of that nature.
We know national news said virtually everyone got out but that's a lie. They were prepared for all those on the coast but Texas laws cannot force them to leave their home, but if the number of deaths are high that law will change.
If possible try to watch one of our local channels, on Channel 13 (ABC) one of their investigative reporters has been HAMMERING everyone they speak with on no access to the Bolivar Peninsular. One reporter from another channel asked this to Rick Perry, to the Coast Guard, National Guard, County Judge and FEMA. Each time she is receiving the run around, so now we are talking about this in here, while waiting in the POD line we were talking about this issue too. Numerous people DO NOT understand why we do not have any information regarding this area, there has been news information on ALL AREAS but not Crystal Beach almost as though it did not exist.
Right now they have a good cover since a lot of people do not have access to the local news. Only the national media or others noting this does not seem to open this area to the local media. If you are not familiar with our coast and want to cover the Bolivar Peninsular they will only show you the west end, then tell you it is not safe and ask you to leave.
So keep an eye out and an ear open, this could get ugly
Strange history of FEMA before and after life under Homeland Security. Cranks in the 80's spun yarns of FEMA's nefarious post-martial law mission (and inspired the X-Files movie story). Katrina showed FEMA to be one more massive agency yielding results inversely proportional to its ambition. Now it looks like we have a new precedent of a coordinated HS operation, but a news blackout only looks worse the longer it lasts.
ellen, this could explain why...the DirecTV feed from Houston, Tx was cut off prematurely!!
Maybe Anderson Cooper can report "on air" what's happening??
It was only recent that a report of about 1,600 souls lost their lives in New Orleans, La and the surrounding areas.
Just before Hurricane Gustav came ashore, the city of N.O. finally buried 85 unclaimed bodies!!!!
(R) Governor Perry is enforcing a no-fly zone to keep media out. This is incredulous that our government can create a situation like this in response to a disaster affecting the lives of so many citizens. Let's all pray the death tole is low.
We are getting none of this. So our lack of outpouring of caring isn't because we don't care - we just don't know... Please, keep us updated.
I hope this is a fake email. Of course.
But if true, what possible motive is there to hide the number of deaths? Who would that benefit and how?
I imagine there are more deaths than the bodies already recovered. Possibly some bodies not found yet in the debris and some washed out to sea.
To add: Some people may have refused to leave because the evacuation for Rita was so bad that more people died from the evacuation than from the hurricane.
This is good news for John McCain, right?
On a more serious note, keeping the media away seems like something they do in China or the old USSR after a disaster of some sort.
I pray the death toll is not as bad as it may well be, but this does not look good, folks. And the longer they try to keep everyone in the dark about what has happened, the worse the reaction will be when the story does finally break into the open.
The death toll from Katrina was 1,836 (with another 700+ unaccounted for). That it was not far worse was in part due to the center coming ashore east of New Orleans in a far less densely populated area (and, despite the flooding, it could have been far worse for New Orleans if it had been directly over or just west of the city).
The Galveston/Houston areas are far more densely populated, and there were probably more people who stayed behind there during Ike than were left in the New Orleans/MS Gulf Coast area, from the sound of things. That does not bode well for what the statistics may finally be.
I hope I am wrong. Please, God!
I don't know about the anonymous source (and I've seen that kind of writing before) but I did find a few interesting things:
Someone thought Galveston was a good place to put a Level 4 biodefense lab.
NOAA is reporting numerous fuel and other hazardous material spills.
Local media are none too happy.
remember the young idiots partying on the balcony of the bar late the evening before the storm hit? They were grilling and guzzling whiskey straight from the bottle. Fox even interviewed the barmaid and told them to leave. Any word on what happened to all of them??
Steve from Baton Rouge
Conjures up the story of the three-story-tall Richelieu Apts. in Pass Christian, MS, back in Camille. There was no "hurricane party" in that beachfront complex, but 23 people did stay there during the storm. Next morning, there was nothing left of the building but the slab. Miraculously, there were only 8 fatalities there.
I received the same email as Robert Ryland (i.e., the guy who posted it to burntorangereport.com, which is linked above) from a mutual friend. I trust this friend implicitly, and if he trusts his source, then that's good enough for me. But let me clarify a couple of points:
First, the references to "Galveston" are not necessarily to Galveston Island. Galveston County covers much of Galveston Bay including the Bolivar Peninsula. When he says "Galveston," he likely means the county generally, and not just the Island, as Texans often speak in terms of counties as their primary geographic reference. Had he meant Galveston Island, he likely would have said "the Island." My suspicion is that the bodies in the trees were located on the Bolivar Peninsula, which is no longer a peninsula but three islands as the storm surge washed away the land bridge connecting it to the mainland.
Second, the fact is that the storm surge raised the water table. So a lot of stuff buried in the ground, such as corpses, popped out of the ground like a cork out of a champagne bottle. The email indicates that the bodies were spotted from the air, so it was impossible for the emailer to tell whether those bodies were of those who perished in the story, or whether they were corpses that had been disinterred by the storm surge.
Regardless, the stories I am hearing from numerous sources indicate that the scene on both Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula are nightmarish. Were these stories to get full airing in the (sensationalist) media, you would have a panicked rush of people trying to get back to Galveston. As it is, there is already a massive traffic jam of people who want to go home, which is preventing emergency vehicles from transporting aid and supplies to Galveston.
Thank you, James. Much appreciated.
I can't speak to the number of deaths in Galveston. However, I do have some ICS (Incident Command System) training.
This situation isn't the same as the Bush administration creating a "freedom of speech" zone three blocks away from where Dubya is appearing.
Creating "no-fly zones" around disaster areas isn't to thwart the media from covering the event. It's necessary during and immediately a major event like Ike.
The "no-fly" zone allows responders who use emergency agency aircraft as a tool in rescuing victims, monitoring the disaster situation from the air, and delivering needed resources (emergency personnel, equipment and supplies) to do their job without the additional problem of having media and other private aircraft cruising around the area, mucking up the operation.
For those of you who wonder what is going on - maybe you'll find an answer in the articles on the following website :
http://www.cuttingedge.org/articles/weather.cfm
Here in Phoenix 2 news helicopters collided while jockeying for better coverage of a car chase. It killed all 4 on board. If they hadn't been hovering over a park, there would have been blazing helicopter parts all over a residential neighborhood.
NOW do you understand the no-fly zone? You would not only have news choppers but Bubba in his Piper Cub making flybys with video cams to post to YouTube.
It's bad enough having to deal with a crisis without having to keep the damned media and looky-loos safe from their own blazing case of stupid.
EXAMPLE: My parents neighborhood was in a siege because one of the residents had decided to barricade himself in his house and take potshots at passing vehicles. We were was one house away from the siege, and here came a local reporter and cameraman, slithering over the fence into the back yard, heading for the fence to the house next to the gunman's.
My dad called the cops and had them detained for trespassing.
NOT a surprise to me:(
What is SHOCKING to me is the number of people that STAYED! ESPECIALLY after SO MANY HORRIBLE hurricanes in recent years!
I have friends in south GA - that saw the SAME thing after TWO massive tornados blew through town in the middle of the night. They never even knew what hit them! Didn't even know it was coming!
I saw first hand the after effects of Andrew. I ONCE stayed in the Keys for a Cat 1. That was BEFORE 06 and Charlie - Rita & all of the others.
If I had to WALK out of town - beg borrow or steal to find a way out - I would NOT EVER sit on an island - EVER again for a hurricane on a direct path to my town.
HOW TERRIBLE!!!
Carol....Where specifically did you get the information that 102,000 stayed on the island? The population is less than 60,000 and even with the influx of tourists, I cant imagine 100,000 remained.
As a Galvestonian living in Finland now but with many many relatives from the island, I can attest firsthand ( with the information provided by a brother who returned to the island after the hurricane....there are NOT dead bodies all over. I also have a nephew who is amongst the first responders who said this is sheer nonsense regarding the Galveston island death toll.
"1500 people dead in Galveston"???? I have been through 15 hurricanes in my lifetime.
It is sickening to see the sensationalism, pure lies, and propaganda being driven down from the news
media and being passed on person-to-person by misled and misinformed people. I have seen reports of
"1500 people dead in Galveston" from hurricane IKE Well, this is just plain BULL. I was there and am
an eye-witness. With irresponsible reporting line this, the media needs to be restricted from certain
situations where they do more harm than good for reasons of ratings.
There is an unprecendeted push to sensationalize these storms since the very real crisis in
New Orleans with KATRINA but IKE was not a KATRINA. People don't seem to understand that
New Orleans is below the sea level and Galveston is not. Another big disappointment is the
leadership and the insistance that evacuation is the only choice. This is and should be a case-by-case
consideration. It should never be an absolute rule unless you live on the beach and even then it would
depend on your preparations and your shelter say for example if you had 25 foot piers underneath then
you might stand a chance. THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY. To what degree is it going to be acceptable for
elected officials to dictate how we choose to protect our homes and pets.
One reporter discussed that a storm surge of 27 feet could reach so many miles inland like 5-10 miles.
So what is the fear here? If you are inland, is the fear to not be touched by any water at all even if
it is 1 inch deep? The last time I checked sea water it is not a biological hazzard and it is fairly safe
to be touched by it.
Another reporter discussed how he was amazed how a cat had survived with her kittens while her owners
had evacuated. Well? What is amazing about this? Cats are natuaral surviviors. What did cats do before
people?? I believe they can survive in the wild just fine.
As an experienced hurricane survivor, I must just say and and comment on the nature of our society as
we are coming to be "The Culture of Narcissism" and mankind has created more of a mess than he can manage
and has lost touch with nature and how to coexist in it. It is a dramatic but sad commentary.
See your Bible for answers or if that is not your cup of tea, you may want to refer to the lyrics of Amazing from Aerosmith.
...take the conspiracy 1 step further and consider the Feds NOAA holding the wind velocity at 110 mph just under Cat 3 for 4 days?
if the wont tell us, we wont know...
Plenty of citizens have taken pictures of Bolivar Peninsula and posted them for viewing. Check out
crystalbeach.com. There are numerous photo galleries taken by residents and others - hundreds of close-up pictures. I'm sure if bodies were hanging from trees (which would only be palm trees!) they would have seen them. I'm trusting the officials to do what's necessary to manage this disaster and it's got to be a very difficult, exhausting and depressing job. So, when people like you all are forcing them to spend time and energy answering conspiracy questions then you become a distraction. Let them do their work and get off their backs! If you were missing a loved one you would want them looking for that loved one, not spending time answering questions from paranoid suspicious quacks and conspiracy bloggers. If you disagree, then run for office - only then will you understand the scope of this responsibility and how silly people like you really are!
I live in Houston and wanted to reinterate some things. Although those in Galveston were required to evacuate, the power "went out" (was more than likely shut off) atleast 6 hours before the storm even hit land, preventing many from getting the gas that was required to get off the island. Also, although people were told to leave, it is not the first time they have been told a terrible storm would wreck the island. In the past three years, Galveston has been evacuated 3 other times, with absolutely no damage inflicted, other than the looters who broke into many homes. And the two possible highways to take you off the island have, in the past, been so backed up due to evacuations, that a 30 mile trip to safety could easily take 16 hours, which is close to impossible for many injured, elderly, or poor. Houston is the fourth largest city, and Galveston is less than 30 miles away. When all of Houston pre-emtively evacuates, the only roads leading out of galveston are stagnant, and, again, it is close to impossible to leave. It is interesting to hear views from people from other states. I think the media has sent you an unreliable message about how easy and simple the evacuation was. Again, although people could have heeded the earlier warnings, they were punished for heeding those warnings in the past few years by having their houses broken into, lost wages from leaving work, and a huge amount of money that some simply dont have for the multiple tanks of gas required to make even a short distance, due to the highways being stalled.
Also, check out photos on the websites of the following:
Beaumont Enterprise
(Many Beaumonter's have homes in Galveston County. I'm a Beaumont native living in Dallas).
Houston Chronicle (same thing)
Videos on KFDM website of private plane flyovers.
Crystal Beach website - photos/videos
News helicopters are probably banned, if they really are, because Black Hawk rescue helicopters are in use (captured on one of the aforementioned videos) and need clear airspace until search and rescue operations are complete. Duh!!! NOAA has expanded it's satellite images to include more of Galveston County as well as the Mid-County area to the northeast.
Great way to find out if your house is still standing without getting in the way of the emergency management personnel. No water, no power, no food, no gas, blocked roads, flooded roads - that's why you stay put! Just send donations to the American Red Cross and earmark them for the Hurricane Ike victims - that's the best use of your energy and concern right now.
This is not a joke. I live in Houston. My husband is in law enforcement as are many of our friends. I have contacts at Clear Lake Regional Hospital thru a friends. It is the closest large hospital to Galveston. Bodies are being brought in massive quantities. Several of my friends and co-workers live in and around Galveston. Here are some non published facts.There were 20,000 on official records to evacuate and said they would. Only 8,000-10,000 are truly accounted for at this time. Some may have left and not checked back in or may be fine. There are hundreds of bodies in bags that were and are being stored under bridges and boardwalks so as not to be seen by planes and helicopters. Out of 10,0000 they are caclulating that at least 15% were swept out to sea or died. Those in Houston are well aware of the situation. We may be the fourth largest city, but people still talk. We just don't understand why no one in our local press doesn't go for a pulitzer ? WHY THE HELL AREN'T ALL THESE BODIES FLOATING UP MAKING SOMEONE ASK QUESTIONS? I love the way the press has already forgotten about Ike and the devastation. Personally, I think it is because of our gun laws. There are too many with concealed carry permits. That deters thefts more than anything. Also, one of our HPD shot a fool acting up at a gas station a few days after the storm.
I am upset about covering up the body count. That is not right. Their families should know. We are still housing all those Katrina-ites. (Houston has still not been repaid for that fiasco-Where is the chocolate city for us?) However, they were told for 2 days it was a good idea to leave. For another 1 to GET YOUR ASS OFF OF THE ISLAND!! The last 12 hours it was this is your last chance. Our storm started hitting the coast with winds and water at 1-2pm Friday afternoon. The local coast guard already had 150 calls from stupid people that decided to finally leave. They wanted to be rescued from their own stupidity. This prevented the CG from assisting those who truly got caught trying to leave. Not the one toothed wonder trying to get his rusty bass boat out of an already choppy bay.
I was on Galveston and Bolivar on September 15 and the comments above that there were hundreds or thousands of deaths are completely false. I always wondered about conspiracy theorists now I know you are all full of crap. Let me explain.
I work for a cell phone carrier. My job last week was to assess the damage of our towers/sites in Houston to accomplish this in Galveston and Bolivar I used a helicopter. We were granted an “Infrastructure exemption” to the TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) area from FEMA not the Governor. I flew at 300’ up and down the area all day and I saw only one thing that may have been a body. It was on Bolivar, and it was a pile of debris with yellow police tape around it and about ten people standing around carefully looking at it. This was around 10 am. Furthermore, there were several other private helicopters and planes inspecting the area. I never once heard the Hobby tower deny anyone access to the airspace.
To the Houstonian who asked, "Why the hell aren't all these bodies floating up making someone ask questions?", I would like to know-
what questions should be asked? Even if there were bodies "floating up" they weren't murdered - they were caught in a devastating storm surge - and I'm sure as time passes we will be made aware of more and more victims as their bodies are found on land or at sea. No one is suggesting that there were no victims. However, I'm glad the news media isn't there to photograph bodies before the officials can remove them. They would probably televise it without hesitation. I don't understand the sense of urgency some are expressing here to know exactly what the rescuers know or have seen. It must be horrific. Consideration should be given first to the victims and the families waiting on news of the missing. Our citizens come first - not the media. Bolivar Peninsula alone is a 46 sq. mile piece of land. It will take time to thoroughly search every square foot of Bolivar and Galveston while trudging through septic pools and rotting fish and food, swatting mosquitoes and running from alligators, too. My hat's off to all who are there helping in this recovery stage. I will patiently wait for the official report and, in the meantime, pray for SE Texas.
---Dallas, TX (Beaumont native)
Having chatting with a friend who works at Clear Lake regional Hospital, the only unusual or suspicious activities having to do with bodies was the movement of already dead bodies ( from normal, natural and non-Ike related sources) from the morgues and other facilities on Galveston Island. This was a standard part of the emergency preparedness plan not to leave these bodies, who died from again non storm related causes to a place where these bodies could be better cared for and not washed out to sea by some tsunami.
Just to let those who continue to say that people should have evacuated, they should know that Galveston Island was only PARTIALLY evacuated. West End was the only area evacuated. I know because I work down there and had to drive onto the Island Thursday to work all day, just like many others. My neighbors where all scrambling to board up, which all we kept hearing was just to shelter the best we could. I think most evacuation orders were given out in less than 48 hrs (which is crazy). In fact, Galv. Mayor kept saying the Island only needs 6 hrs to evacuate. That’s crazy. At that point, you are either in your car jammed in traffic during the storm or at your home…it’s like offering them their pick of poison.
As for those buses to help evacuate, they were sent here a week before the storm and most were ordered to leave for the Corpus area. There are many Galveston residents whose only means of transportation is by bike. I drove down the seawall on my way home that Thursday the day before the storm and all I could think was we have always received ample evacuation notices and here’s this hurricane aimed right up the ship channel and schools, businesses, etc. are just now being allowed out.
Please, before being quick to retort with people needing to evacuate and they had no excuse, make sure you know all the facts. If you want to point fingers, point them at Galveston’s mayor and officials. They made the calls to late and didn’t underline any urgency. Even the weather channel reported several times live that they couldn’t believe in the lack of evacuation orders.
Who partially evacuates an Island!!!
Whar a crock... I was just down there yesterday with my camera. The state troopers at the "checkpoint" prior to the causeway bridge didnt even stop me or check my i.d they waved me right through. I went to the far eastern tip of the island. There were no police or media over there. We ( wife and I) took pics of the large ships going by and we also took pics of a few houses that are no longer there. Just slabs of concrete with lots of belonging washing up on the shore. NO BODIES anywhere to be found. No trees for the bodies to be hanging in. just a bunch of personal belongings that these poor families lost. Only thing other than debris and posessions over there was a crap load of mosquitos. I do think there are some people that were washed away to the sea with the receding floodwaters but nowhere near the 1500 number this person came up with.
I just got off the phone with my husband who called to tell me he had heard from a superior (he is in Texas, working with FEMA) that they had found 200 bodies in a church in Galveston. That is how I found this site. I was trying to figure out why it wasn't on the news. Makes you wonder what is going on over there, why the cover-up.
if you haven't seen it before, check out this video from a local station trying to find out why they were denied access to the islands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db81M7q-5to
I am a concerned Houstonian and have had many discussions with other locals concerning this topic over the past few weeks after Ike as the city struggles to recover. Since the storm hit there have been increasing rumors of thousands dead, unsurprisingly. We in Houston have seen the damage Ike did 60-75 miles in, I can't begin to imagine the force that hit the islands. The first rumor I heard was that in Galveston there were at least 2 18-wheeler trucks FULL of dead bodies. This I have heard from different unrelated sources. Most recently I have heard the number of dead bodies collected has reached 53,000. I have scoured the internet looking for info and like many of you, can't find anything. Have no doubts, there WAS a media blackout of Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula. Those of us who had generators and plugged in the TVs to watch local news got the same recycled pics over and over. No one here can imagine why the govt is not releasing this info. If this was a natural disaster, why cover it up and let it happen again when the next hurricane hits? where are all these missing person's families? surely (as most of us do) they have out of state friends/family that have not heard from them since power has been reestablished. Its as if several thousands of people have just disappeared. There are tax and property records, its easy to figure out who belonged where and who is still unaccounted for. Why hasn't this been done? How can this cover up happen? and more importantly, why?
First off to the above poster Houston is not 60-75 miles from Galvestin it's more like 35-40 driving miles and right around 30 as the crow flies. The so called "tractor trailors" full of bodies are parked at a funeral home near texas city on the mainland. They are bodies from funeral homes on Galveston island not ike victims. They had to take the bodies off of the island in case of flooding. 53,000 ??? there aren't that many people living on bolivar to begin with and a majority of people left both bolivar and galveston island before the storm hit. I'm sure some bodies have washed out to sea, the bay and are still in the debris in south chambers county. People like you and the op are where stupid rumors like this come from.
Wow!!! For all of those who heard from an friend of your cousins boss' neghbor, that they are covering up thousands of dead bodies, get your aluminum had shields on, because the black helicoptors are out in force. First, there are and will be deaths related to IKE. I am a first responder, and the body count will probably end up between one and three hundred. Many of those will either be found in east Texas water ways, or not be found. They were people who chose to stay for whatever reason. The island was under mandatory evacuation, and trafic had cleared by thursday night, the day before the storm. Second, many of the pictures of bodies and rumors were derived from the graveyards in Galveston. When the water table rose, many of the coffins were pushed out of the ground and thrown about. The same thing has happened in many other hurricane ravished cities. The island took the brunt of a very powerful storm, but the seawall did its job and most of the damage was from the eventual storm water creeping into houses. The island population is about 65,000 and about 10,000 people chose not to leave. The worst hit areas of Crystal Beach and Boliver were devastated, but niether had more than 200 homes, and both lost about 80%. They were both evacuated, with only dozens staying and not thousands. Life in the area is getting back to normal, with most schools starting next week. Unfortunately we will always have those people who try to convince everyone of the worst. To all of those affected, God bless and wish you well.
thank you michael for setting the record straight. My mother and I just returned from Galveston this weekend. I grew up there, and she has resided in the same house since 1957. She, and I, have been through many hurricanes, but the damage that Ike presented was like no other. Our neighborhood, middle class, west end (but still behind the seawall), sustained 6 feet of water and we lost about 90% of everything in the home. Cleanup crews gutted 4 dumpsters full on Saturday am. We still have yet to tear out Sheetrock, hardwood floors, and built in cabinetry. Mold has taken over and it is now a biological hazzard.
Mom works for GISD and has no idea how school will begin tomorrow. The island was still a mess, apartments are being condemed, and rumors were flying down our street indicating that the plan for our neighborhood was to condem it also so that a prominent real estate developer from the island could purchase it and build large home beginning in the $500,000 range.
I fear that it will be this type of activity that will be used in the aftermath of a natural disaster to further push out the middle class population from the island so that only the very wealthy are able to reestablish themselves.
Insurance prices alone will do this. I understand that only 17,000 of those on the island had the applicable insurance. Living there, three policies must be taken out to cover all bases: hail and windstorm; flood; and homeowners. Like I said, mom's house was middle class, and luckily she took out all three policy types: a total of $6000 per year! After the claims incurred as a result of Ike, policies are expected to more than TRIPLE! For those of you weak in the math department, that will be AT LEAST $18,000 per year for the proper coverage. With that paid, if Ike #2 hits, claims may very well be denied.
With all of this said, I am curious as to why this type of information is not being offered by government agencies such as FEMA? BTW, they have also left the island, so the minimal help they were giving, such as bags of ice, is also gone. It is completely disturbing to see my hometown succomb to the more priviledged especially in post-disaster times. Yet another display of the continued effort to further divide class systems through the power of the dollar. Aren't we a great democratic society where everyone has equal opportunity?!
I am acurrent resident of Galveston island and a 3rd generation B.O.I. (Born On the Island) I have been on the island since early Sunday after the storm. Yes, Galveston is in horrible shape and will never be the same. Things are beginning to look up however. Wal-Mart, Kroger, Target and Home Depot have opened. Several restaurants are open. Power has been restored and the water is now safe to drink. My kids even went back to school this week. I work for a company that employs over 450 Galvestonians and my wife works for the City of Galveston. Thankfully, neither one of us know one single person who has died from this storm.Islanders are a tough bunch. The fact is Galvestons population is really only about 45,000. Most evacuated. Because of privacy laws, shelters can't list names of who is staying there. As far as a media blackout? Nonsense! Galveston is open to anyone who cares to visit and see for themselves.We still need your help and support however. Over 80% of us are homeless. But we are alive!! We shall return...and so too, this island.
I am acurrent resident of Galveston island and a 3rd generation B.O.I. (Born On the Island) I have been on the island since early Sunday after the storm. Yes, Galveston is in horrible shape and will never be the same. Things are beginning to look up however. Wal-Mart, Kroger, Target and Home Depot have opened. Several restaurants are open. Power has been restored and the water is now safe to drink. My kids even went back to school this week. I work for a company that employs over 450 Galvestonians and my wife works for the City of Galveston. Thankfully, neither one of us know one single person who has died from this storm.Islanders are a tough bunch. The fact is Galvestons population is really only about 45,000. Most evacuated. Because of privacy laws, shelters can't list names of who is staying there. As far as a media blackout? Nonsense! Galveston is open to anyone who cares to visit and see for themselves.We still need your help and support however. Over 80% of us are homeless. But we are alive!! We shall return...and so too, this island.
I am acurrent resident of Galveston island and a 3rd generation B.O.I. (Born On the Island) I have been on the island since early Sunday after the storm. Yes, Galveston is in horrible shape and will never be the same. Things are beginning to look up however. Wal-Mart, Kroger, Target and Home Depot have opened. Several restaurants are open. Power has been restored and the water is now safe to drink. My kids even went back to school this week. I work for a company that employs over 450 Galvestonians and my wife works for the City of Galveston. Thankfully, neither one of us know one single person who has died from this storm.Islanders are a tough bunch. The fact is Galvestons population is really only about 45,000. Most evacuated. Because of privacy laws, shelters can't list names of who is staying there. As far as a media blackout? Nonsense! Galveston is open to anyone who cares to visit and see for themselves.We still need your help and support however. Over 80% of us are homeless. But we are alive!! We shall return...and so too, this island.
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