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Hurricane Alicia Galveston and Houston, Texas

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Hurricane Alicia Galveston and Houston, Texas New Page 4 Prepared by: Rudolph P. Savage (Team Leader), Coastal Engineer, Offshore & Coastal Technologies, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia Jay Baker, Professor of Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee Joseph H. Golden, Supervisory Meteorologist, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland Ahsan Kareem, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Houston Billy R. Manning, Director of Engineering and Education, Southern Building Code Congress International, Birmingham, Alabama Committee on Natural Disasters Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1984 file:///G|/John%20Eringman%20-%20Do%20Not%20Delete/HESdata/CHPSsite/USHESdata/Assessments/alicia/aliciacover.htm [10/28/2009 2:17:29 PM] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study team expresses its appreciation to the many individuals, organizations, and agencies who provided information and suggestions for this report, including: Tony Accurso, Office of Aircraft Operations, NOAA, Miami Dwight Allen, Texas State Department of Highways, Houston Peter Black, Hurricane Research Division, NOAA, Miami William Blum and staff, National Weather Service Office, Galveston Billy S. Bradbery, Building Inspection Division, City of Houston Ken Braswell, Southwest Bell Telephone Service, Houston Robert Burpee, Hurricane Research Division, NOAA, Miami Bob Case, National Hurricane Center, NOAA, Coral Gables, Florida John Caswell, Houston Public Transportation John Cox, Tera, Inc., Houston Jim DeLong, Houston International Airport Randall DeVaul, City of Galveston C. B. Emmanuel, Office of Aircraft Operations, NOAA, Miami Tom Flor, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Research Center, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi Neil Frank, National Hurricane Center, NOAA, Coral Gables, Florida Ted Fujita, University of Chicago Hal Gerrish, National Hurricane Center, NOAA, Coral Gables, Florida Jack Greenwade, Houston Power and Light Glenn Hamilton, NOAA Data Buoy Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Stephen Harned and staff, National Weather Service Forecast Office, Alvin, Texas Mike Harrison, Utility Department, Seabrook, Texas Richard Hawkins, Houston Public Transportation J. F. Hickerson, Coordinator of Emergency Management and Preparedness, Baytown, Texas Elmer Honath, Santa Fe Railroad, Amarillo, Texas George Huebner, Jr., Department of Meteorology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas Gary Jones, Utility Department, Seabrook, Texas Dave Jorgensen, Hurricane Research Division, NOAA, Miami Mike Kieslich, Engineering and Planning Division, Galveston District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston George M. Kush, National Weather Service Forecast Office, San Antonio,Texas Bryan W. Lambeth, Radian Corporation, Austin, Texas Mike Loftin, Office of Finance and Budget, City of Houston Frank Marks, Hurricane Research Division, NOAA, Miami Richard Marshall, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. H. Crane Miller, Attorney, Washington, D.C. David Moehlman, Houston Waste Water Division file:///G|/John%20Eringman%20-%20Do%20Not%20Delete/...te/USHESdata/Assessments/alicia/acknowledgments.htm (1 of 2) [10/28/2009 2:17:29 PM] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Roy Muckleroy, Houston Water Supply Byron Nelson, Houston Solid Waste Management Rod Perkins, National Weather Service Office, Lake Charles, Louisiana Ron Phillippsborn, Office of Aircraft Operations, NOAA, Miami Mark Powell, Hurricane Research Division, NOAA, Miami Milton Rexstein, NOAA Tidal Datum Section, Rockville, Maryland Bob Sheets, National Hurricane Center, NOAA, Coral Gables, Florida Duane Stiegler, University of Chicago Joseph C. Trahan, Engineering and Planning Division, Galveston District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston Linwood Vincent, Offshore & Coastal Technologies, Fairfax, Virginia Frank Wadlington, Texas State Department of Highways, Houston Jim Wimberly, Hobby Field, Houston Howard Wolfe, NOAA Mapping Imagery Unit, Rockville, Maryland William Wooley, City of Galveston file:///G|/John%20Eringman%20-%20Do%20Not%20Delete/...te/USHESdata/Assessments/alicia/acknowledgments.htm (2 of 2) [10/28/2009 2:17:29 PM] INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Hurricane Alicia, which came ashore near Galveston, Texas, during the night of August 17-18, 1983, was the first tropical cyclone of full hurricane intensity to strike the U.S. mainland in over three years. It will be recorded as the second most costly storm ever to strike the United States, if Hurricane Agnes, which in 1972 caused inland flooding over a large part of the U.S. East Coast, is excluded. Alicia's coastal property damage was exceeded only by that of Hurricane Frederic, which came ashore near Mobile, Alabama, in 1979. Though Alicia was not a strong hurricane, the area of maximum winds in the storm crossed a large metropolitan area--the Galveston-Houston area of Texas (see Figure l.l)--placing that area's network of expensive structures, buildings, and lifeline facilities at risk. Wind damage was extensive throughout the area, and rain and storm surges caused flooding damage in some areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay. A unique effect of the storm was concentrated damage to the glass of a cluster of high-rise buildings in downtown Houston. "It was a hypnotic thing to watch," said a spokesman from the city's Public Works Department who observed damage in downtown Houston from a police squad car. "A panel would break out, but it wouldn't fall directly to the ground. It would get whipped around in the wind, hit another panel, maybe in the building across the street, and then there would be more broken glass flying around. It seemed to be feeding on itself." Other residents of the area reported being scared, lying in the dark listening to the wind roar, glass breaking, and flying debris hitting around them. For some, the storm was fatal. Tallies of the death toll from Alicia vary from 10 to 20, depending on the extent to which deaths indirectly attributable to the storm are included. The purposes of this report are to document the storm's characteristics and effects, to call attention to specific characteristics, effects, and storm-related conditions that could be studied further with beneficial results, and to examine the warnings, responses, and recovery occasioned by the storm. The report is based on a four-day survey by team members on August 23-26 of the conditions after the storm and on oral and written follow-up. file:///G|/John%20Eringman%20-%20Do%20Not%20Delete/H...PSsite/USHESdata/Assessments/alicia/introduction.htm (1 of 7) [10/28/2009 2:17:30 PM] INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW METEOROLOGY Hurricane Alicia was the first tropical cyclone of the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the first hurricane to strike the continental United States since Hurricane Allen made landfall near Brownsville, Texas, on August 10, 1980. The period of slightly over three years between these hurricane strikes is the longest time the mainland of the united States has gone without a hurricane landfall in recorded history. The next longest hurricane-free period was from September 28, 1929, to August 14, 1932. file:///G|/John%20Eringman%20-%20Do%20Not%20Delete/H...PSsite/USHESdata/Assessments/alicia/introduction.htm (2 of 7) [10/28/2009 2:17:30 PM] INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Hurricane Alicia made landfall on the extreme western tip of Galveston Island during the predawn hours of Thursday, August 18, 1983. The storm had developed rapidly over the north-central Gulf of Mexico during the previous 24 hours. When it made landfall, it was slightly above average in terms of size and intensity. Research aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made measurements in the storm until it came ashore. In addition, the storm made landfall near several major weather offices and radar facilities. As a result, Alicia is one of the best documented hurricanes ever to affect the United States. Some unusual aspects of Hurricane Alicia that are documented in this report include its rapid strengthening in the 12 to 18 hours prior to landfall, its rather sharp turn to the right (toward the northnorthwest) during the afternoon of August 17, and the double concentric eyewalls of the hurricane during the few hours prior to and just after landfall. Also, Hurricane Alicia was the first storm for which a new "probability" system of predicting hurricane landfall was used. Under this system, the probabilities of a hurricane's landfall are given and updated in each advisory issued for the storm, as described in Chapter 6. Twenty-three tornadoes were reported to the National Weather Service (NWS) Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City in association with Hurricane Alicia (National Climatic Data Center, 1983). However, subsequent damage surveys have not corroborated this number of tornadoes. Preliminary reports indicate rainfall totals for the storm of 10 to 11 in., which is below average for Gulf Coast hurricanes that make landfall (average peak values are roughly 10 to 15 in. for other hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico; see, for example, Parrish et al., 1982, and Miller, 1958). STORM SURGES AND SHORE PROCESSES More than two days before Alicia crossed the Texas coast, water levels along the east Texas coast began to rise above normal levels. By midnight on August 16, the water level in front of Galveston Island was about 2 ft above normal tide level. The disparity had increased to more than 3 ft by 6 p.m.
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