Before and After- Scary

This is nothing short of incredible. It takes ones breath away to think about the power of one of these hurricanes.

Originally found at Jeff Masters' Weather Underground Blog, these are before and after pictures from Bolivar Peninsula, the location of Ike's onshore push. The experts say that if this had been Galveston Island, even the seawall would have been of little use.

Yet I can imagine that somewhere at Galveston Island there are some survivors who even now are saying, "See. It wasn't as bad as they said it would be. I was right not to evacuate."

Which, of course, is sheer nonsense. These pictures show how just a few miles shift can make the difference between destruction- and devastation. Seeing Houston and some of the scenes from Galveston make it crystal clear how much damage this storm was able to produce. I hope Miami was paying attention.

There are more picture comparisons from Bolivar Peninsula at the US Geological Survey Comparison Website