Damage on Wake less than feared, flyover shows (photos))

Air Force Link + Coast Guard Photos ^ | September 5, 2006

[HAL9000]

9/5/2006 - HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) -- A U.S. Coast Guard aerial assessment of Wake Island Sept. 2 showed less destruction than expected from Super Typhoon Ioke, but the Air Force needs people on the ground at Wake to determine the full extent of damage, officials said.

The Coast Guard flew the mission to check for pollution releases. It was flown in a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Kapolei, Hawaii. Footage and pictures taken on the mission, which were reviewed by Coast Guard and Air Force officials, don't show any oil spills or hazardous-material releases, the Coast Guard said.

A U.S. Navy ship left Naval Base Guam Sept. 4 for a four-day, 1,500-mile trip to the island. The ship carries members of the Air Force's 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sherman from Alameda, Calif., is expected to arrive Sept. 7 with members of the Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team. As part of its mission the team responds to potential oil and hazardous-material spills. The team will conduct a detailed survey of the island and check the integrity of island structures, the Coast Guard said.

Ioke hit Wake Island Aug. 31 with 150 mph winds. All 188 island residents had been evacuated on two C-17 Globemaster IIIs from the 15th Airlift Wing at Hickam AFB.

A Sept. 2 flyover of Wake Island by a U.S. Coast Guard aircrew following the passage of Super Typhoon Ioke shows damage to the civil engineer industrial area. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

A Sept. 2 flyover of Wake Island by a U.S. Coast Guard aircrew following the passage of Super Typhoon Ioke shows damage to two buildings. Ships carrying response forces are due to arrive at the island soon. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

A Coast Guard flyover of Wake Island Sept. 2 shows little apparent damage from Super Typhoon Ioke around the runway and taxiway, officials said. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

[HAL9000]

fyi

[MplsSteve]

Thanks for posting that.

A few days ago, I wondered how badly the island would look after the Typhoon passed over it.

[conservative in nyc]

Thanks for the ping.

The runway looks like it is in pretty good shape, and the buildings look like they have sustained some wind damage, but I would have been shocked if they didn't. Things look fairly good, considering the island just got hit with a Super Typhoon, though.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Well, duh! 8<)

Runways and taxiways are genrerally flat and well-paved.

unless beach erosion wiped out whole parts of the lagoon, the runways would be good.

I understand the runway took about 700 flights last year -several of them emergency landings, so for a remote island with no active naval or AF base, it was pretty busy anyway.

[HAL9000]

High-resolution versions of the photos are available at the source link.

[gridlock]

The makers of this particular satellite dish are going to want to use this shot in an advertising campaign.

[Interesting Times]

ping.

[Tulsa Ramjet]

When will cable be back on?

[Ramcat]

What's the state flower of West Virginia doing on Wake Island?

[Rev DMV]

It would be interesting to see a wide view of the whole islan, but overall it looks a lot better than I would have first guessed.

[HAL9000]

The makers of this particular satellite dish are going to want to use this shot in an advertising campaign.

The dish has some damage that was not apparent in the low-res photo. Check the hi-res version.

[blam]

Thanks for the update.

There's more remaining than I expected too.

[kingu]

Wow, incredible that there's not that much damage considering it supposedly caught the edge of the eyewall. Good news, for sure, especially that the tanks didn't spill everywhere.

[PigRigger]

What happened to the French Guy that supposedly stayed on the Island.....or was that just urban myth????

[Strategerist]

Somebody made a post on a bulletin board somewhere (not sure where) as if it was a cut and paste of an AP article - it wasn't - the whole French meteorologist story was a fake.

[camas]

and the stop sign made it too

[finnman69]

looks like it was not as bad as Katrina. In the pic of the runway there is a building very close to the water that looks pretty intact.

[kingu]

What looks like a basketball hid behind the building on the middle left of the image. The high-res images, though, show a lot more damage than the low-res ones imply - looking at how virtually every tree is stripped, as well as chain link fences are crushed.

It almost looks like seaweed is on the ground everywhere, but that just might be the well scrubbed former leaves from the trees.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Hey...... what happened to Thomas Cavanaugh the French astronomer?! ;-)