NHC HURDAT2 · OpenFEMA · NWS Storm Events
Hurricane Ike (2008)
Ike in the federal records: the 1,382 cities near its track, flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and NWS reports.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
Hurricane Ike (2008) passed within 75 miles of 1,382 cities on this site in 10 states, 123 of them while it was at hurricane strength. Its peak wind on the NHC track was 144 mph (Category 4); the track runs from September 1, 2008 to September 15, 2008. It is on this list for the 4th most flood insurance claims of any tropical system on record. The most cities within 75 miles were in Michigan (303), Texas (257), Indiana (231) and Illinois (187).
- Cities within 75 mi
- 1,382
- Peak wind
- 144 mph
- NFIP claims
- 58,126
- Deaths in NWS reports
- 60
123 at hurricane strength
Category 4
$2.65 billion
752 reports
The full track, landfalls and every city it passed →
Where it came closest
| City | Closest | Wind on the track | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galveston, TX | 8 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Freeport, TX | 45 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Clute, TX | 46 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Lake Jackson, TX | 48 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Brazoria, TX | 57 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Crystal Beach, TX | 5 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| La Marque, TX | 13 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Hitchcock, TX | 16 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Danbury, TX | 37 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Angleton, TX | 45 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Sweeny, TX | 63 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
| Texas City, TX | 11 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | September 13, 2008 |
The 12 cities with the strongest wind on the NHC best track at its closest point, of 1,382 within 75 miles. Wind on the track is not the wind felt in the city.
Flood insurance claims and federal declarations
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders filed 58,126 claims under its name and were paid $2.65 billion for buildings and contents, in the dollars of the time; that is the 4th most of the 104 tropical systems with claims under their name. Texas had 44,095 of them (76%), then Louisiana with 8,618 and Illinois with 2,799. Among the cities on this site, the most claims came from Galveston, TX: 13,971, paid $757.5 million. Claims data as of September 8, 2026. FEMA issued 6 major disaster declarations and 3 emergency declarations naming it, covering 263 designated areas in 7 states and territories; the first came on September 7, 2008.
| City | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Galveston, TX | 13,971 | $757.5 million |
| Houston, TX | 8,586 | $168.6 million |
| Crystal Beach, TX | 2,562 | $285.8 million |
| Bridge City, TX | 1,886 | $246.6 million |
| Seabrook, TX | 1,622 | $108.9 million |
| Dickinson, TX | 1,443 | $84.3 million |
| La Porte, TX | 1,360 | $89.3 million |
| Hitchcock, TX | 1,345 | $43.5 million |
FEMA, OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3 (claims whose flood event carries the storm's name, ZIP codes summed by city) and Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What the National Weather Service recorded
The National Weather Service logged 752 reports whose account names it, in 21 states: 302 high wind, 151 tropical storm, 64 flood, 53 flash flood and 49 storm surge. They record 60 deaths and 2,509 injuries, and $17.02 billion in estimated property and crop damage.
September 12, 2008, Galveston, Texas: storm surge, 12 killed, $4.00 billion damage
NWS: “Storm tide ranged from 10 to 15 feet above mean sea level along the Galveston Bay, Clear Lake and associated tributaries which caused major flooding of coastal areas. Some higher surge levels up to 17 feet were indicated on the Bolivar Peninsula.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports dated within the storm's track whose account names it. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses; some reports are unverified.
More notable storms
Why these storms and how each figure is counted: methodology.