Hurricane Ike (2008)
| Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Hurricane Ike near peak intensity northeast of the Lesser Antilles on September 4
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| Formed | September 1, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | September 15, 2008 |
| (Extratropical after September 14) | |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 145 mph (230 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 935 mbar (hPa); 27.61 inHg |
| Fatalities | 103 direct, 92 indirect, 16 missing |
| Damage | $37.5 billion (2008 USD) (Third-costliest hurricane in United States history; costliest in Cuban history) |
| Areas affected | |
| Part of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Ike (pronounced /ˈaɪk/) was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. In these places, Ike remains the costliest tropical cyclone on record. Other locations were also seriously affected by Ike, which was ultimately the third-costliest of any Atlantic hurricane and resulted in $37.5 billion in damages, with hurricanes Sandy and Katrina causing more damage, at $75 and 108 billion, respectively.
Ike developed from a tropical wave west of Cape Verde on September 1 and strengthened to a peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane over the open waters of the central Atlantic on September 4 as it tracked westward. Several fluctuations in strength occurred before Ike made landfall on eastern Cuba on September 8. The hurricane weakened prior to continuing into the Gulf of Mexico, but increased its intensity by the time of its final landfall on Galveston, Texas on September 13. The remnants of Ike continued to track across the United States and into Canada, causing considerable damage inland, before dissipating two days later.
Ike was blamed for at least 195 deaths. Of these deaths, 74 were in Haiti, which was already trying to recover from the impact of three storms (Fay, Gustav, and Hanna) which had made landfall that same year. Seven people were killed in Cuba from Ike. In the United States, 113 people were reported killed, directly or indirectly, and 16 were still missing as of August 2011. Due to its immense size, Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County region near Corpus Christi, Texas. In addition, Ike caused flooding and significant damage along the Mississippi coastline and the Florida Panhandle Damages from Ike in U.S. coastal and inland areas are estimated at $29.5 billion (2008 USD), with additional damage of $7.3 billion in Cuba (the costliest storm ever in that country), $200 million in the Bahamas, and $500 million in the Turks and Caicos, amounting to a total of at least $37.5 billion in damage. Ike is now the third-costliest Atlantic hurricane of all time, only surpassed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and later by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The search-and-rescue operation after Ike is the largest search-and-rescue operation in Texas history.
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