|
|
|
|
: 3/2 large brick home, with large shop on 1 ac corner lot. $259,900. See pics @ or 576-4069.
BAY CITY – Hurricane Ike is headed directly for Bay City, according to the National Weather Service’s projections late Wednesday afternoon.
The storm is expected to make landfall just south of Matagorda Bay.
Matagorda County officials have ordered a mandatory evacuation of the areas south of state Highway 35, except Bay City and Van Vleck. Evacuation of these areas must be completed by 6 p.m. Thursday.
This evacuation notice includes the areas around Palacios, Ashby-Buckeye/El Maton, Collegeport, Matagorda, Wadsworth, Sargent, Chinquapin, Tres Palacios Oaks, Tidewater Oaks, Blessing area and Cedar Lane.
Matagorda County Judge Nate McDonald said it’s really important for residents, whether they decide to stay or leave, to have their homes boarded up and make sure they have plenty of dry food and water.
He also said it’s important for residents to make sure their gas tanks are topped off.
“The best advice I can give is to go ahead and evacuate, especially if you are traveling with the elderly or children,” McDonald said. “If you have any uncertainty about your safety or the safety of your family, go ahead and evacuate now.”
The Emergency Operations Center has been activated to manage the orderly evacuation of Matagorda County, McDonald said.
The first impact of Ike should be felt on Friday evening, with 50 to 60 mph winds hitting the coast from Galveston to well south of Corpus Christi, NWS officials said. The stronger hurricane force winds, ranging from 74 to about 125 mph, will approach the coast by midnight Friday and are expected to affect the coast from Freeport to Corpus Christi.
National Weather Service officials said the actual landfall of the center of the storm will occur early Saturday morning somewhere near the south end of Matagorda Bay.
A storm surge of 12 to 18 foot is possible within 50 miles of the storm’s landfall and up to 12 inches of rain can also be expected in this area. A surge of 7 to 10 feet is possible throughout the remainder of Matagorda County and Brazoria County, and a potential surge of 4 to 8 feet is possible in the Galveston area, officials said.
All roads in Matagorda County are open for evacuation. The designated evacuation routes for Matagorda County are:
Residents east of the Colorado River evacuate using state Highway 60 to Wharton, then U.S. Highway 59 to state Highway 71, then to Austin.
Residents west of the Colorado River should evacuate using state Highway 35 to Highway 71, then to Austin.
Residents of Palacios needing assistance evacuating should meet at Palacios City Hall at Henderson and Fourth Street at 9 a.m. today.