by David Peterson Harvey
updated February 27, 2009

It's hard to describe living after a hurricane. Hardships are ongoing for the people of the Houston area and the Texas Gulf Coast, this author included. Coastal areas including the Bolivar peninsula, as far north as High Island, were devastated. The news media have moved on, the government is in an economic crisis and not enough is being done to help.

This page, and all photos and video provided by David Peterson Harvey and Margaret Peterson Harvey, are provided by thehiddenart.com for raising awareness of the hardships and devastation caused by Ike. Non-profit organizations may use our photos and video for raising money for hurricane Ike relief if they simply provide proper credit in their use. We can provide high definition copies of the video and you can download high resolution photos from this page. Individuals viewing this page, please get involved with these organizations and help end the ongoing suffering here.

NOTE: If you use these photos in accordance with the permissions provided, please feel free to rotate and crop as necessary. Contact me for permission if you want to make any other changes.

January 24, 2009 - Galveston East Beach

Photos by David Peterson Harvey
These pics of destroyed buildings on Galveston Island's east beach illustrate the power of hurricane Ike. Not only were brick and cinder block buildings destroyed by this storm, but their concrete slabs were broken and metal supports bent to the ground by the power os the storm surge.

The remains of buildings on the east beach are a testament to the mighty power of hurricane Ike's storm surge. Over four months after this hurricane, these ruins still stand along the desolate water front. Wreckage and ruin are all that remain.

More to Come

January 24, 2009 - Bolivar Peninsula

Photos by David Peterson Harvey and Margaret Peterson Harvey
From the moment you leave the ferry from Galveston and drive onto the Bolivar peninsula, you know something is wrong. Four months after the hurricane, there are still piles of debris on the side of the road. Cars and other large items that were carried by the storm are stacked in makeshift junkyards to the left. Volunteers and residents alike are living in travel trailers and RVs because there is simply no place else left to stay.

The destruction gets worse the farther you drive until there are areas where it's hard to tell people lived. In some cases, the entire landscape has changed. How do you show the devastation where there is nothing left to show? Roads and houses are simply not there. Pictures of standing beams in this collection are places where people's homes actually stood. Many of the large, open areas depicted in these pictures are all that's left of once thriving communities.

There's so much we couldn't photograph, so much we didn't even see. My eyes teared up when I stood with my camera in front of a gate and timbers where a house stood only a little over four months ago. Others in our party cried as we witnessed these heart-wrenching scenes of devastation.

How do we show devastation where you can't even tell homes existed? Entire communities were wiped out and landscapes completely changed by the pounding storm surge. We didn't even make it all the way through the damaged areas on our trip.

More to Come