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December 2, 2008 8:43:38 PM CST

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Galveston Resort Turns Into Storm Central

Posted Sep 13, 08 12:20 PM CDT in US 

(Newser) – A motley crew rode out Hurricane Ike at Galveston’s San Luis Resort, Spa, & Conference Center, Joel Achenbach writes for the Washington Post. Up to 800 people were there, among them the mayor, cops and firefighters, along with storm chasers and drenched refugees holed up as the wind roared and TV newscasts forecast doom. “I am afraid we may be in danger. I am afraid for everyone here,” one mother wrote in her journal.

Guests at a neighboring Holiday Inn fled to the San Luis when hotel lawyers asked them to sign papers that would hold the chain blameless in the event of a catastrophe. Young men seeking beer and food decided to go to a friend’s house. A baker who intended to ride out the storm at home arrived, after fleeing his house by boat. “I prayed the whole way over here,” he said.

Source Washington Post

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Ike, today.   (AP Photo)
Brian Devall, right, 16, and his friend Andrew David, 17, paddle a kayak through flooded streets to check on Devall's house after Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast.   (AP Photo)
A boat lies in a street after Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast at Galveston.   (AP Photo)
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The sea heaved asphalt and smooth stones up the driveway of the San Luis. Seawall Boulevard became the beach. The wind stripped the facing off the Holiday Inn. And then just after 2 a.m., the wind stopped blowing. Galveston was in the eye.

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Texas • Hurricane Ike • flooding • evacuation • refugee • Galveston • shelter


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