Impact
As Elena was upgraded to a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center issued a gale warning from Port O'Connor, Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana; these remained in effect until the storm moved ashore. Winds were fairly minor in association with the storm; a station in Galveston, Texas recorded a peak wind gust of 46 mph (74 km/h). As Elena moved ashore, it produced a 3 foot (0.9 m) storm tide at Galveston and Baytown. Rainfall from the storm was generally limited to the coastline, and peaked at 10.3 inches (261 mm) at Palacios; light rainfall also extended along the coastline of Louisiana. Near Houston, 4.6 inches (117 mm) of precipitation was reported, which caused two drownings from flooding. Overall storm damage was fairly minor, totaling to less than $10 million (1979 USD, $28 million 2007 USD).
At a dock owned by Shell Oil Company in Deer Park near Houston, a lightning bolt from thunderstorms of Elena struck the oil supertanker SS Chevron Hawaii. The lightning started a fire on the ship, which expanded and wrecked one adjacent barge and burned nearby docks. The ship was nearly split in half from the lightning strike, and oil seeped into Houston Ship Channel for several hours. Firefighters combated the fire on the tanker in boats, but their efforts were hindered due to unsettled weather from Elena, as well as unsafe water to travel through. The fire caused three deaths and 13 injuries, and damage related to the incident totaled $27 million (1979 USD, $76 million 2007 USD).
Two Sperry Technicians that were dispatched to repair the radar on the ship were crossing the gangplank at the time of the explosion and were killed. Their names are David Strout and Don Wampler.
Read more about this topic: Tropical Storm Elena (1979)
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