Thousands rode Ike out in Galveston

GALVESTON, Texas (Reuters) - John Benge, who lives down the street from the Galveston seawall, has ridden out every major storm to hit the Texas city since 1929, except for one during World War Two, when he was in Scotland with the U.S. army.

Hurricane Ike was no exception for the 91-year-old, who spent Friday night alone in his six-room frame house as Ike roared ashore in the barrier island city with 110 mph (175 kph) winds, crashing waves and pounding rain.

"It was awful noisy and windy, and rain was pouring down," Benge said. His house was barely damaged, with a few shingles blown off the roof and tree limbs scattered in the yard.

Emergency officials had warned that anyone who ignored the evacuation order risked "certain death," but Benge and thousands of others opted to stay put. Authorities said more than half of Galveston's 60,000 residents had left.

"I just didn't feel like leaving everything I own here," Benge said. "I wasn't really concerned about it. No use worrying about something you can't help."

Benge and thousands of others seemed to have won their bet against nature as search and rescue crews fanned across the battered region and reported that damage was nowhere near as bad as had been feared.

The news was especially welcome in Galveston, the site of the deadliest weather disaster in U.S. history. That storm, the hurricane of September 8, 1900, brought a surge -- the high seas pushed ashore by hurricanes -- that leveled most of the city and crushed its early blossoming as a major U.S. port.

At least 8,000 people died in that disaster, which prompted construction of a 17-foot (5-metre) sea wall to protect the 2-mile-(3-km)-wide island.

In those days, forecasting was primitive -- or non-existent. A century ago, Galveston's first indications that the disaster was coming were the darkening skies and surging waves that began on the morning of the storm.

Trains and horse-drawn vehicles were still crossing the fragile wooden bridge to Galveston as rising waters flooded the streets.

This year, the city did not escape completely unscathed.

Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc said there were no immediate reports of deaths, although 17 buildings had collapsed on Galveston Island and the downtown was flooded.

"The causeway into the island is in very bad shape," he said. "It's draining slowly. There's just lots and lots and lots of debris in the drainage system."

Hospitals reported a few injuries and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Paulison, said more than 120 people had been rescued in Galveston "and probably much more than that."

Benge said things looked all right outside his window after Ike passed. "There was some folks across the street stayed," he said. "Don't know about the others in the apartment complex next door."

Benge was widowed seven years ago and said his only child, a son in San Antonio, Texas, had not urged him to evacuate.

"He leaves it up to me. He knows I'll take care of myself one way or another."

(Additional reporting by Bruce Nichols in Houston; writing by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Frances Kerry)