October 2008
Columns
Editorial comment
I’m not sure whether Houston is the oil capital of the world-if not, then it’s close. But Hurricane Ike touched the lives of all who live here, and many oilfield operations far away as well. The death toll is unsettled, but including the Caribbean, it could get to 900; more than 50 deaths occurred in the US, and that number could easily go higher given that there are dozens of people missing from the barrier islands of Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those folks who suffered great loss. Everyone was affected, even agricultural crops, and some 4,000 cows were killed. Ike was a weird hurricane. Forecasters will be trying to learn what happened for years. Why was the storm surge so strong well ahead of the storm? Why was the eye of storm so continuously disorganized?
