By Carey Gillam

GALVESTON, Texas, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Long-time Galveston resident Sylvia Hernandez has survived several hurricanes in her 72 years. But after riding out Hurricane Ike's wall of water and wind in her tiny two-story island home, Hernandez has decided it's time to leave.

For her, Galveston is gone.

Before Ike crashed ashore early on Saturday, leaving a pile of wrecked homes and businesses in its wake, the coastal barrier island of Galveston was in the midst of what local officials called an economic "renaissance."

Now residents are wondering if they will return -- a sentiment they share with other storm-struck cities like New Orleans.

"I'm not staying," Hernandez said, standing under an avocado tree in her debris-strewn backyard. "I think this is the end of Galveston."

Four days after Ike crashed ashore in Galveston early Saturday, the city of 60,000 is on an emergency footing, with city officials warning of a health crisis and lack of basic necessities like clean water, power and flushing toilets.

Before Ike hit, Galveston's prospects were bright, with $2.6 billion in investment under way or in the pipeline, according to the city's Chamber of Commerce.

Damage to the port, which has a $1 billion-a-year impact on the city, has not yet been assessed. It will take about four weeks before it is fully opened to traffic, said port director Steve Cernak.

In addition to bustling tourism in its historic Strand area and a surge of cruise ship trips, the city has moved to recast itself as a health and biotechnology center, anchored by a $600 million buildout of the University of Texas Medical Branch and a top-level biosafety lab.

With 6,600 new housing units under way and more than 3 million square feet of new commercial space under development, "Galveston really has been experiencing an economic renaissance over the last eight to 10 years," said Jeff Sjostrom, president of Galveston Economic Development Partnership. "Obviously this is a challenge to us."

A MARATHON AND NOT A SPRINT

Now, Galveston's recovery will be "a marathon and not a sprint," Sjostrom said, expressing confidence that the city will eventually rebuild.

But some residents wonder if it makes sense to keep investing in a barrier island city so vulnerable to fury of storms.

Galveston is famous for a hurricane in 1900 that killed some 8,000 people. After that, the city built a protective seawall and flourished as a seaside resort for decades.

The seawall might have saved Galveston this time. But all told, thousands of homes and businesses were damaged by waters that surged 11 feet and insurance adjusters are just starting to stream onto the island to tally the losses.

Many of Galveston's hotel and restaurant properties were among those suffering extensive damage. Tilman Fertitta, one of the area's largest commercial property owners, estimated his 15 properties on the island suffered $10 million in damage alone.

Alfred Simpson, who runs the family owned Simp's Kitchen and Barbecue in downtown Galveston, saw his flood and fire insurance canceled 18 months ago after premiums soared.

Now his restaurant, one of the oldest commercial buildings in the area, probably faces demolition, Simpson said.

"It's totaled," Simpson said, after running looters out of the Lucky's liquor store down the street.

CONDITIONS REMAIN DIRE

Restoration of city services is expected to take weeks, with debris removal and reconstruction seen taking much longer. In the meantime, officials have set up assistance centers around the island and Salvation Army vans have been dispatched to troll neighborhoods and hand out hot meals and bottled water to hungry homeowners and their children.

Even as officials work to help residents who have stayed, they are begging them to leave. Damage is so widespread and conditions so dire due to a lack of electricity, fresh water and sewage treatment, officials said they fear an outbreak of illnesses like diarrhea and food poisoning.

For some like Hernandez, leaving sounds good.

She and her son Steve survived the storm by huddling in her attic with an assortment of pets as sea waters filled the home's lower level. When she emerged, her refrigerator was floating.

With neighbor Jesse Pena, Hernandez and her son have spent the last few days flushing toilets with captured rainwater, sharing food cooked over an outdoor grill, and reflecting on the lost sense of security they once had.

"We've got too many hurricanes," said Pena, who has lived in Galveston for 42 years and weathered many storms. "Yep, I'm getting out." (Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor in Galveston and Chris Baltimore in Houston; Editing by Bill Trott)

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