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The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the most devastating hurricane to impact the United States coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico with respect to loss of life (8,000-10,000). Half the Galveston buildings were destroyed as a 4.7m surge inundated the island. Island elevations were only 0.9-2.4m above sea level. The engineering feats comprising recovery of the island over the next six years were truly amazing. Every building standing was raised to an elevation of 5.2m above sea level by hydraulic fill. A concrete seawall was constructed to serve as a hurricane barrier (now approximately 16.2km long with six extensions) for the downtown Galveston area. Rapid growth of the Houston/Galveston metropolitan area and Hurricane Ike in 2008 made the citizens, local governments, and industries acutely aware that a Category 5 severe hurricane surge (perhaps six meters plus in elevation) such as Katrina or Camille would most likely pose unacceptable threats to life and the rapidly expanding Houston economy. A hurricane protection concept called the Ike Dike has been thrust forward as a means of protecting Galveston Island and the greater Houston metropolitan area from a catastrophic hurricane surge, even more intense than Hurricane Ike or the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. Research has been initiated to examine this innovative protection system, the brainchild of Dr. William Merrell, George P. Mitchell Chair, Texas A&M University, Galveston (TAMUG). Dubbed the "Ike Dike", this system could protect not only the city of Galveston, but the entire Houston metropolitan area and surrounding coastal counties. The project includes an articulating gate which could close and then reopen one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, the Houston Ship Channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]