Why should this area be protected?
The Houston/Galveston region subject to surge is home to over 2 million people and this number is
expected to double by 2050. The area not only supports a large population but also houses the largest and
most important concentration of petroleum
Figure 1: Port of Houston
refining and petrochemical processing
plants in the United States. The area is also
home to the second-busiest port in the nation,
the Port of Houston (see figure 1), and
produces valuable ecosystem services
throughout Galveston Bay.
The Hurricane Surge Threat
Unfortunately, the region is hit by a major hurricane about every 15 years. These storms have the
ability to cause major damage and loss of life because a considerable amount of the area’s infrastructure is
located near sea level and because large scale
Figure 2: Hurricane Rita Evacuation
evacuations are increasingly difficult,
especially with hurricanes that quickly
increase in intensity and/or change in
direction. For example, problems
experienced during the evacuation from
Hurricane Rita caused 108 deaths while the
Hurricane itself only killed 3 individuals, see
Figure 2. Figure 3 on the following page
illustrates that even the nationally important
industrial facilities of Houston are at risk
because storm surges can be channeled up the
Houston Ship Channel. A testament to the
area’s vulnerability was seen on September
13, 2008, in the form of Hurricane Ike.
Hurricane Ike caused over $30 billion in damages, loss of life and considerable damage to the natural
environment, yet it was not nearly as destructive as future hurricanes could be. For example, the Perryman
Report estimates that a “Katrina-like” storm would cause aggregate losses to the Texas economy of $73
billion in gross product, $61.3 billion in income and 863,000 jobs.
Figure 3: Coastal Flood Hazard Areas during Hurricane Storm Events
Category 3
Category 4
Map Courtesy of the Houston-Galveston Regional Council
Hazard Mitigation Plan-2011 Update
A Possible Solution: The Ike Dike
The Ike Dike is a coastal barrier that would protect the Houston-Galveston region including Galveston
Bay from Hurricane storm surge. It
Figure 4: First Component of the Ike Dike
is modeled after the Dutch Delta
Works that protects the Netherlands
Category 5
from North Sea storm surges. The
Ike Dike consists of three
components. The first of these
components is the Galveston
Seawall, see Figure 4. The
Galveston Seawall has done its job
of preventing catastrophic Gulf
overflow, but fails to prevent back
surge from the Bay.
Figure 3: Man-Made Revetment made to Look Natural
The second component of the project would be to extend the protection afforded by the existing
Seawall along the rest of Galveston Island and along the Bolivar Peninsula. This can be done by creating a 17
foot high revetment near the beach
Figure 5: Second Component of the Ike Dike
or by raising the coastal highways,
see Figure 5. Revetments can be
made to natural in order to blend
seamlessly with the surrounding
environment. The coastal
highways are already at an
elevation of 5 feet and would need
to be raised 12 feet to afford the
overall 17 foot surge protection.
The third and final component of the project would be the addition of flood gates at Bolivar Roads, the
entrance to the Houston, Texas City and Galveston ship channels, and at San Luis pass, see Figure 6. This
component would be the costliest
Figure 6: Third Component of the Ike Dike
aspect of the project and would also
be its biggest tourist attraction. The
gates would be designed using
existing technology from the Dutch
Delta Works Project to prevent
interference with navigation, to
allow circulation into the bay under
normal conditions, and to close
quickly when a hurricane
approaches in order to provide a 17
foot higher-than-sea-level barrier
across Bolivar Roads.
When combined, these components would create a coastal spine that would provide a barrier against
all Gulf surges into the Bay, see Figure 7.
Figure 7: Coastal Spine Formed by the Ike Dike
The Ike Dike is one method for providing comprehensive protection from storm surge for the people,
properties, and industrial base of a nationally important region. The Dike would not only reduce the area’s
vulnerability but would also encourage
Figure 8: Simulation of Hurricane Ike’s Surge without the Ike Dike
economic development through investment in
and commitment to the region. Although a
structure of this size would be costly, it could be built
with existing technology that has proven to be very
successful for the Netherlands, would cost much less
than a single hurricane recovery, and would also cost
less and be more environmentally sound than
individually armoring the entire Bay complex.
Addition studies are needed, but preliminary studies
confirm that the Ike Dike would have indeed
suppressed Ike’s storm surge, as demonstrated by
Figures 8-10.
Figure 9: Simulation of Hurricane Ike’s Surge with the Ike
Dike
Figure 10: Difference of Hurricane Ike’s Surge with and without
the Ike Dike
Simulations courtesy of the University of Texas: Gordon
Wells, Jennifer Profit, Clint Dawson
Next Steps
The Governor’s Commission on Recovery and Renewal, recognizing that the vulnerability of the
Houston/Galveston area could cause serious economic damage to the United States, reviewed the Ike Dike
concept and recommended that a six county public corporation be formed on the upper Texas coast to deal
with storm surge and regional recovery strategies. That corporation, the Gulf Coast Community Protection
and Recovery District, is now in place and is currently coordinating approaches to compressive regional
protection from storm surge.
For more information on the Ike Dike please visit:
www.tamug.edu/ikedike