Covering Ike in Galveston

Stuart Robinson with Cyclone Research Group gets a look at the seawall as winds and rain from Hurricane Ike blew on Galveston Island, Saturday morning, Sept. 13, 2008.

Waves crashing into the seawall reaching over a memorial to the hurricane of 1900 as Hurricane Ike began to hit Galveston, Texas, Sept. 12, 2008.

On the corner of 61st and R Streets., Frank Urbina walks down the street where flood waters reached waist-deep on Galveston Island as Hurricane Ike approached, Sept. 12, 2008. He was hoping to evacuate with his mother and father who were being sent to Austin after they were rescued from their home. He was denied the chance to ride along and had to stay behind.

John Ned Rose, 66, assesses the damage in front of his home near the corner of 53rd and M Streets on Galveston Island after Hurricane Ike hit on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. Rose said he had water up to his waist in his home. "I've never seen it like this," the lifelong resident said.

Workers with Pacesetter Personal Service clean up the Rosenberg Library, home to the Galveston and Texas History Center, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Sept. 20, 2008. Water damage and mold have caused the library to lose many documents and books that were kept in the library's lower floors.

Jamaica Beach resident Terri Landry looks at debris in her side lot as Jamaica Beach residents were able to return on a look-and-leave basis to inspect their property in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike on Galveston Island, Sept. 20, 2008. "This is the stuff you see happen to other people on TV," Landry said. Many of the homes in Jamaica Beach survived without damage to residents' living areas because building codes require the homes to be raised on pilings.

Ralph Crawford, Jr., a heavy machine operator, was sent in to help clear the debris of Murdock's Pier, Hooters and the Balinese Room after Hurricane Ike struck Galveston, Texas, Sept. 19, 2008. A former Houstonian now living in Conroe (outside of Houston), being in Galveston again reminded him of better times: spending his after-prom party at the Flagship Hotel, numerous days surfing with friends between the jetties, and romantic weekends with his wife at the San Luis Hotel. "I'm sad for Galveston," Crawford said, standing near Murdock's Pier and where Hooters restaurant on the pier once stood. "I see people's lives and memories in what we are cleaning up."