LEAGUE CITY — Dozens of boats tossed aground by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike lined the Gulf Freeway on Sunday, an ominous backdrop to the hundreds of workers crossing the causeway to aid Galveston.
As buses carried evacuees north, ambulances from Dallas were seen traveling south to the island. Some evacuees could also be seen walking north across the causeway.
One man led his leashed dog with one hand and was pushing a green city garbage bin — believed to contain his belongings — with the other hand.
Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said search and rescue efforts would be fully under way today as more help streamed into the county.
The sheriff’s office didn’t evacuate county prisoners, and Yarbrough said they were unharmed as Saturday’s storm surge failed to reach the county jail or Justice Center on 57th Street.
“The good Lord took care of those 1,050 inmates,” Yarbrough said. “There was no rising water, but some wind-driven rain did make it into the law building.”
The county’s annex at Crystal Beach and road and bridge facility took a beating on Bolivar Peninsula, Yarbrough said.
Although Yarbrough said he had no reports of Mainland damage to county facilities, he expected damage to a justice of the peace and constable’s offices.
The county retained contract workers to clean debris, and Yarbrough said the county was working to restore access to Bolivar Peninsula.
“The ferry landing on the Bolivar side didn’t appear to be in good shape,” Yarbrough said after reviewing aerial slides.
County offices are closed Monday, but Yarbrough said he hoped some offices would be open Tuesday, but he said he didn’t want to open offices that were without electricity.
Yarbrough said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was working to install a generator at the island's 30th Street pumping station, which when operable would allow residents to flush their toilets.
The county’s dusk-to-dawn curfew ends Monday, but Yarbrough said he was confident it would be extended in parts of the county.
County Commissioners have also scheduled a meeting Tuesday at the county's Emergency Operations Center at 1353 FM 646 in League City.
Commissioners could continue the declaration of a local state of disaster for the county at the request of the county's emergency management coordinator.
The commissioners could also ratify an order of mandatory evacuation from certain areas, which Yarbrough issued Wednesday.
