Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle
Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle
Hurricane Ike caused 74 deaths in Harris and Galveston counties and was one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history, according to the Harris County Flood Control District. The storm's record-breaking devastation inspired the idea of the Ike Dike, a multibillion-dollar coastal barrier project that experts say is necessary to protect the region against dangerous storm surge.
Be sure to check out the Chronicle's newly published special feature on the Ike Dike, which shows how the massive project would dramatically transform Galveston, function during a storm and impact the environment.
Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle
Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle
Hurricane Ike approached Galveston Island on Sept. 12, 2008. It would be a Category 2 storm at landfall.
Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle
The hurricane hit Galveston Island at 2 a.m. the following day. The waves along the shore were estimated to be between 10 and 15 feet.
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
The tallest waves, between 15 and 20 feet, hit Bolivar Peninsula and areas to the east. Entire communities were destroyed, and bodies washed up among the debris.
Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle
The next few images show the island on the day the storm hit. Here, Galveston resident Henry Vasquez grabbed a souvenir from the rubble of Murdock's Pier and Hooters.
Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle
Galveston resident Gary Simmons walked among the same rubble.
Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle
Leslie Sundell floated her dog on a life raft as she walked on The Strand.
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
Debris lines the southbound lanes of I-45 near La Marque after Hurricane Ike struck the area the night before.
Eric Kayne / Houston Chronicle
Rubble was all that remained of Texas 87 on Bolivar Penninsula, photographed on Sept. 15, 2008.
Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle
Homes were also damaged on the west end of Galveston. Recovery would take months for some, years for others.
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
Some people thought FEMA responded slowly to the needs of flood victims in Galveston and Bolivar.
Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle
About 24,000 structures sustained damage in Galveston County. Rolando Garza cleaned his muddy and moldy kitchen in Galveston after floodwaters devastated his home.
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
Brenda Roby walked through a mass of debris in the place where her home once stood on Sept. 24, 2008, in Galveston.
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
Ellen Smecca wiped her eyes as she sat outside her flood-damaged home with most of her belongings.
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle
A month later, on Oct. 14, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton toured the storm-battered region. The storm caused an estimated $27 billion in damage. On Bolivar Peninsula 3,266 homes were destroyed. The following spring, Bill Merrell, a marine science professor at Texas A&M Galveston, began speaking publicly about a barrier system that would protect the region from the next big hurricane.
Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle