Medical Center in Galveston Faces $710 Million in Ike Damage

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston faces $710 million in building damage, ruined equipment, revenue losses, and cleanup and evacuation costs because of Hurricane Ike, and officials expect a "significant" number of layoffs at the 12,000-person facility, the Houston Chronicle reports. Insurance will cover only $100 million of the damage, which far surpasses that at Tulane after Hurricane Katrina. The damage includes campus buildings that took on as much as 8 feet of water and the destruction of the hospital's kitchen, blood bank, and radiology department.

UTMB, the state's oldest medical school, has lobbied FEMA for more funds and has also turned to state lawmakers for help.

Elsewhere, Rice University in Houston sustained $3 million in damage, the Thresher reports. Ike damaged about two thirds of the buildings and one third of the trees on campus, but officials say most of the building damage was minimal, such as wet carpet and broken windows.