The short - but eventful - life of Ike - Photos - The Big Picture

The short - but eventful - life of Ike

In its brief lifespan of only 13 days, Hurricane Ike wreaked great deal of havoc. Affecting several countries including Cuba, Haiti, and the United States, Ike is blamed for approximately 114 deaths (74 in Haiti alone), and damages that are still being tallied, with estimates topping $10 billion. Many shoreline communities of Galveston, Texas were wiped from the map by the winds, storm surge and the walls of debris pushed along by Ike - though Galveston was spared the level of disaster it suffered in 1900. (28 photos total)

A horse grazes beside a house, surrounded by floodwater, near Winnie, Texas after Hurricane Ike, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. Ike was the first major storm to directly hit a major U.S. metro area since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. (AP Photo/Pool, Smiley N. Pool)

Image of Hurricane Ike on September 10, 2008, taken by the crew of the International Space Station, flying 220 miles above Earth. Ike barreled into the densely populated Texas coast near Houston early September 13, 2008, bringing with it a wall of water and ferocious winds and rain that flooded large areas along the Gulf of Mexico and paralyzed the fourth-largest U.S. city. (REUTERS/NASA/Handout) #

Ike passed over Cuba and Haiti prior to its landfall in Texas. This is a view of the flooded waterflont in Baracoa, eastern Cuba on September 7, 2008. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) #

This image from September 8, 2008 was provided by the U.S. Navy. Homes seen in Port De Paix, Haiti remain flooded after four storms in one month have devastated the area and killed more than 800 people. The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) has been diverted from the scheduled Continuing Promise 2008 humanitarian assistance deployment in the western Caribbean to conduct hurricane relief operations in Haiti. (Emmitt Hawks/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) #

The surge before the storm swamps Galveston Island, Texas, and a fire destroys homes along the beach as Hurricane Ike approaches Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) #

An alligator is seen crossing a road in Sabine Pass, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008, as the area recovers from the effects of Hurricane Ike. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) #

Flooding over access road 523 to Surfside beach, caused by Hurricane Ike forming in the Gulf of Mexico, is seen near Surfside Beach, Texas September 12, 2008. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria) #

Homes and businesses on the Clear Creek Channel in Seabrook are surrounded by rising water from Galveston Bay on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 after Hurricane Ike passed through overnight as a Category 2 storm. (AP Photo/The Galveston County Daily News, Kevin M. Cox) #

With Hurricane Ike offshore, Michael Gardner walks in high water in front of a burning marina warehouse in Galveston, Texas, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. Fire fighters could not reach the structure so they allowed the structure to burn. (AP Photo/LM Otero) #

People ride in the back of a pickup truck through floodwaters from Hurricane Ike Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 in High Island, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool) #

A single home is left standing among debris from Hurricane Ike September 14, 2008 in Gilchrist, Texas. Floodwaters from Hurricane Ike were reportedly as high as eight feet in some areas causing widespread damage across the coast of Texas. (David J. Phillip-Pool/Getty Images) #

An overturned car sits in floodwaters from Hurricane Ike September 14, 2008 in Gilchrist, Texas. (PHILLIP/AFP/Getty Images) #

A house sits among debris, piled up by storm surges after Hurricane Ike made landfall September 14, 2008 in Crystal Beach, Texas. (DAVID J. PHILLIP/AFP/Getty Images) #

Flooding from Hurricane Ike inundates a high school football field in the town of Delcambre, La. Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Alan Hannon, pool) #

Hurricanes can leave strange debris, from winds, waves, or fleeing residents. Here, an animal skull and antlers are seen in the middle of the road after Hurricane Ike in Bridge City, Texas., Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) #

Oil slicks in floodwater surround a pumpjack September 14, 2008 in High Island, Texas. Hurricane Ike made landfall yesterday morning at Galveston causing widespread wind and flood damage along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. (Smiley N. Pool/AFP/Getty Images) #

Eddie Settlocker assesses damage caused by Hurricane Ike at an apartment complex he manages September 14, 2008 in Galveston, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) #

A cat looks down from a a tree in the flooded West End section of Galveston, Texas, after hurricane Ike hit the area Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/LM Otero) #

Greg Schenck struggles to remove debris from a drain on North Main Street just north of downtown Houston after the passage of Hurricane Ike, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. (AP /Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool) #

A woman walks through a flooded neighborhood street, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008, in Orange, Texas. Hurricane Ike's surge overcame the levee along the Sabine River that flows by Orange causing widespread flooding to the city. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) #

A man inspects the damage in front of the JP Morgan Chase Tower after Hurricane Ike passed through the city September 13, 2008 in Houston Texas. Hurricane Ike made landfall in the middle of the night causing widespread damage. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) #

A building maintenance worker walks over shattered glass from windows blown out by Hurricane Ike on the JPMorgan Chase tower Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) #

A cemetery flooded by storm surge from Hurricane Ike is shown, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, in Galveston, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) #

The Hollywood Community Cemetery is seen with several caskets scattered about after surfacing due to flood waters caused by Hurricane Ike, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008, in Orange, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) #

Search and rescue workers drive down a flooded road as they search the Sabine Pass area of Port Arthur, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 following Hurricane Ike. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) #

A house burns uncontrolled in a flooded neighborhood as Hurricane Ike approaches the Texas coast, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, in Galveston, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) #

A bulldozer clears debris along Interstate 45 after Hurricane Ike hit September 13, 2008 in Galveston, Texas. Hurricane Ike has caused losses of between eight and 18 billion dollars, according to early estimates from risk assessment companies on September 13, 2008. (DAVID J. PHILLIP/AFP/Getty Images) #

U.S. Air Force Pararescueman Staff Sgt. Lopaka Mounts, assigned to the 331st Air Expeditionary Group, receives a hug from a resident during search and rescue operations after Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas September 13, 2008. (REUTERS/U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. James L. Harper Jr./Handout) #