hen Hurricane Ike unleashed its devastation on the Texas coast in September, Texans proved their never-failing resilience in the face of a challenge. The fruits of our concentrated preparation and relief efforts between state and local partners ensured the safety of millions of our citizens. This storm was unquestionably the biggest Texas has seen in more than 100 years, and I'm proud of the monumental effort undertaken to protect life and infrastructure in the days before Ike's landfall.
      Ike was not an easy storm to track. Within a 48-hour period less than a week before it hit, the storm's projected landfall moved from Corpus Christi to Port Arthur to Houston, making it difficult to determine where to best deploy evacuation and search and rescue resources. But state and local leaders pulled through, helping move more than 1.2 million people out of harm's way, which, as shown in numerous news accounts, went very smoothly. I attribute part of that to the availability of fuel along evacuation routes thanks to our Texas Fuel Team. The team, comprising private-sector partners, was established in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, when we learned how important it is to coordinate with the fuel industry on evacuation efforts.
      In preparation for the storm, Texas activated key personnel and resources, including up to 7,500 Texas Military Forces personnel with helicopters and cargo planes, more than 1,300 buses for those who couldn't self-evacuate, and more than 300 ambulances for citizens with special medical needs.
      In Texas, county judges have the authority to issue evacuation orders, and as Ike's trajectory narrowed, they did just that in several counties. Our responsibility at the state level is to support these local leaders with the resources they need to prepare their communities to weather a storm event, then recover from its impact.
      To provide immediate help in that recovery process, we created Texas Task Force Ike. This task force was pre-deployed to assist with the response and re-entry effort, to ensure the continuity of local government. It included Texas Task Force 1, Texas Military Forces, our federal partners, the Texas Department of Public Safety, several other state agencies, our private sector partners and mass care organizations. As soon as the storm passed over, the team entered the affected area and immediately worked to meet the needs of local communities and their leaders.
      We know that when a storm of this magnitude hits, it will do damage, it will knock out power, and it will cause flooding. Our goal is to protect the people of our state from those effects to the best of our abilities. As we always do, we prepare for the worst and always pray for the best.
      Fortunately our prayers were answered, the worst-case scenario of a 20-foot storm surge did not occur in the Houston Ship Channel, but our neighbors in Orange, East Harris County and Galveston bore the brunt of this storm.
      Texas is blessed that its fuel refining industry – which produces more than 25 percent of the nation's fuel – withstood a large portion of the damage that was expected, sparing millions of dollars in damage to our shipping, oil and gas infrastructure.
      As I traveled to the areas impacted, I was impressed by the lengths Texans went to help their neighbors – and I know that attitude is ongoing as many of these communities are still working to get back on their feet. The work of local leaders and the willingness of all Texans to rise to the challenge and help those in need is proof positive of our state's strong character.
      Although Ike dealt a tough blow to our coast, knocking down trees and power lines, the good news is that most of the 2.8 million Texans who lost power were back on line within two weeks. In fact, shortly after Ike's winds died down, more than 20,000 electrical workers rolled into the impacted areas, working around the clock to put customers back on the grid.
      Another measure of how Texans help their neighbors is seen in the more than 300 shelters that opened across the state to house some 42,000 evacuees. The community partners, city and county leaders in these host communities truly emulated the generous and willing spirit of our state.
      Now as Texas coastal communities continue along the road to recovery, our federal partners play an increasingly vital role. Whether it's helping cities with the cost of debris removal, providing displaced families temporary housing until their homes can be rebuilt or providing loans to small businesses to help get them back on their feet, the federal government's commitment to Texas is essential.
      Many Texans who were spared from Ike's fury were eager to stand up and do their part to help Texas recover. From donating millions of dollars to the Texas Disaster Relief Fund, to opening their doors and offering a place to charge cell phone and computer batteries, to pushing fuel to the hardest hit areas to prevent shortages, our private sector partners across the state have done their part to ease the transition from devastation to recovery for their neighbors.
      Ike's winds have died down, search and rescue efforts are complete, and most shelters have been demobilized, but there are many Texans still working to rebuild their lives. I am confident that the spirit Texans displayed in caring for their neighbors in this storm's immediate aftermath will continue as we work to help affected Texans rebuild their lives.