Hurricane Ike Headed for Galveston – Houston.

WATCH AMAZING COAST GUARD RESCUE FOOTAGE FROM IKE

All evacuation buses gone by tonight.

Residents who signed up with the city for evacuation assistance will be off the island by tonight, according to city officials.

By 4:30 p.m., everyone who wanted a seat on a city-chartered bus had one, said Mary Jo Naschke, city spokesperson.

The last of the buses were just waiting for Texas Department of Public Safety escorts to head over the causeway, she said.

The evacuation would have been complete by this afternoon but the early round of escorts arrived later than expected, she said.

About 3,000 people registered for evacuation assistance. Officials will not know until this evening how many people, or how many buses, left the island.

Local officials, who called for a mandatory evacuation of Galveston and some low-lying areas of Galveston County this morning, assured residents the trip north would be smoother than it was in 2005.

Officials in Houston and Harris County are asking residents there to stay put unless they live in flood-prone areas.

If Houston residents follow instructions, Galveston County evacuees should be able to get out, Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said.

“It will be a long trip — there’s no question,” he said. “Just be patient.”

Evacuation Assistance

Residents who need evacuation assistance will board buses at the Island Community Center, at 47th Street and Broadway.

City officials have ordered 75 buses, the first of which arrived on the island about 10 a.m.

Mainland residents who need assistance are boarding buses at the Charles T. Doyle Convention Center in Texas City, 2010 Fifth Ave. N.

Island residents who can get to the community center on their own should do so, City Manager Steve LeBlanc said.

Island Transit buses will be collecting people at any bus stop and bringing them to the community center. Local buses also will collect homeless people from the Salvation Army shelter at 23rd Street and Broadway.

Those who can’t get there should call 409-765-3710, and a city staff member will arrange to pick them up, said Carolyn Cox, evacuation coordinator.

Evacuees should bring a pillow, blanket, change of clothes, snacks for the trip and any medication they need in its original bottles, LeBlanc said.

People with children should bring toys. People evacuating with pets should have their animals in crates and remember to bring an adequate supply of food for at least a week.

Evacuees will be taken to shelters in Austin, where medical services and food will be provided.

Buses will begin leaving the island as soon as they are full, LeBlanc said.

There is no planned time for the last bus to leave, but officials hope to have everyone who needs assistance off the island by the time the storm makes landfall, he said.

No shelters will be opened on the island as originally planned.

Anyone who stays will do so at his own risk, Yarbrough said.

Best To Leave

Standing next to Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, Yarbrough said the constantly changing forecast for Hurricane Ike made them call for the mandatory evacuation, something Thomas insisted on Wednesday she would not do.

The decision to make the evacuation mandatory was a very tough call to make, Thomas said.

“But our intent is to saves lives,” she said. “It’s best to leave.”

Forecasters shifted the landfall prediction for Hurricane Ike even closer to Galveston late Wednesday night. The storm is still a Category 2 storm, but it is expected to strengthen by the time it makes landfall late Friday.

Ike will land somewhere between Matagorda Bay and Galveston, and while the track may shift 20 miles east or west during the next 24 hours, those minor changes will not make much difference in the effects felt on the island, said Chris McKinney, a forecaster with the National Weather Service’s League City office.

At this point, the weather service does not expect Ike’s path to change much, McKinney said.

Forecasters predict Ike will bring tides of up to 16 feet, he said.

The storm’s speed is the only good news, McKinney said.

Ike is moving pretty quickly, and forecasters do not expect it to hang around for long dumping rain on Galveston County, he said.

Widespread rainfall is not expected to top 4 inches, but isolated totals could be as high as 10 inches, he said.

Wind speeds likely will reach at least 100 miles an hour on the island, although the maximum wind speeds will probably be recorded south of Galveston, he said.

Not Pretty

Although island residents have less than 24 hours to evacuate before tropical storm-force winds begin, state officials do not intend to open contraflow lanes to help people get through Houston, Yarbrough said.

With the last-minute evacuation decision, the Department of Public Safety did not have time to get troopers in place to open the contraflow lanes, he said.

In preparation for re-entry after the storm, island residents only need a valid picture identification card, LeBlanc said.

Yarbrough said he was sure the island would survive Hurricane Ike.

“It won’t be pretty,” he said. “But we’ve had worse over the years.”

(Fair Use – State of Emergency Declared in Texas)