Ike Ravaged Houston and Galveston...Why Was Katy, TX Largely Spared?
We have been receiving many calls and e-mails from well wishers who figure the storm that hit the Gulf Coast must have ravaged the entire area...and it has destroyed much of Galveston and other coastal Counties. Houston has also sustained great damage to many parts of the City.
Here in Katy the blow from Hurricane Ike was far less. No flooding, far less wind damage (mostly a few down trees and fences), and only a few power outages. Schools should be back in session on Wednesday and like is largely back to normal.
The question we are being asked is why does this area seem to always have fewer storm related problems then other parts of the Greater Houston area?
Here are some of the reasons:
1. Tremendous flood control. The first homes in the Katy area south of I-10 were built in the middle 1970's...by that time the Army Core of Engineers knew quite a bit about flood control and the entire area has been built with the possibility of Hurricanes and other storms in mind.
2. We are 50 to 60 miles inland. Because of this fact we tend to miss the most powerful winds...and the storm surge!
3. Katy was once a large producer of Rice. OK you need to understand that trees and rice did not go together...they would clear cut the land to plant rice. Because of this we do not have as many real high trees...this reduces the damage from fallen trees and branches.
4. The Gulf Stream tends to move west to east. This means the Hurricanes tend to make a turn to the right when they hit land. This is important because the Katy area is located of to the west...and tend to miss the hardest blow from the Gulf storms.
This all adds up to some downed trees...downed fences, and a few roof shingles blown off...but little else...and we are back in business!