OT:Hurricane IKE: The Aftermath

[davishalfdoz]

Well we survived the storm. We actually stayed home and watched as the storm reaked havoc on our small community. We were truly blessed. We had 9 huge oak trees fall in our yard and thankfully they all missed our home. I have been without power for 8 days now. I charged my laptop at my aunts house yesterday when we went to wash clothes and take showers. We have no running water (we are on a personal well) and have taken camping to a new level for us. I never dreamed that we would be camping in our own home. The kids go back to school on Thursday the 25th, but we probably won't have power until the 5th of Oct. or later.

This has put a damper on Disney planning and a huge load on our financial situation. I don't have much faith in FEMA, because under non-emergency circumstances we do fine for ourselves. I think they tend to cater more to those that are already on assistance of some sort and they may very well need help, but this storm and other storms stress all, not just the poorer populations. Also, I feel like because my town ( county even) is not a coastal community, we have all but been ignored. There is devestation here also. 7 of my neighbors woke up the morning after with trees in what was their home.

Sorry, I just needed to vent a little. The stress is getting to me and I am trying to put on the "everything is okay" face for my family. I am sure there are thousands of others that have been in this same situation. Maybe I just need some reassurance that all is well...or at least will be.

Thanks for listening.

 

[yankeechick]

well, i understand your point of venting,but at least you have a home. we only have whats in our car. i hope this doesn't sound rude bc im not trying to be rude. is the red cross in your home town? my friends in the golden triangle area-jefferson county are saying they are not really getting any help either some of them had 6 feet of water in their homes. well, im praying for your family.

 

[tanyaandallie]

I'm sorry. I'm in Houston and we were very lucky to only be without power for 2 days. My sister was without for 6. It is no fun at all. I hope that your power is returned very soon.

To the pp from Galveston, I wish you the best of luck. Is your home gone? Sounds live Galveston residents will be allowed back in next week!

We have 2 family homes in Bolivar. One was my parents vacation home, the other the home my mom lived in (and her dh lives in now that she is gone). One is gone now. We count ourselves as lucky to still have 1 home standing since so much of the peninsula is just gone. Vanished. There are just so many residents from the area that are now homeless. It's just so sad.

I think that the hurricane has had a huge impact on everyone that it hit. Obviously those who lost their homes are impacted in the most severe way but that does not discount the impact on those were affected in other ways. This experience has been like no other. So many lives changed because of this storm.

Best of luck to both of you.

 

[ScrapperBelle]

I am so sorry. I just wanted you to know that I understand where you're coming from. We were in much the same situation after Katrina.

I was watching the news one evening last week and they were showing the people waiting in lines for gas and outside of WalMart and I couldn't keep from crying. I remember doing all of those things.

The absolute worst was knowing that your kids were hot and thirsty and not having anything cool for them to drink. All the ice we had melted by the time the storm was over and there was none to be had for a week afterward.

I also understand your frustration with FEMA. They are a joke. It was 4 months after the storm before they ever paid a visit to our house and then said they couldn't do anything because we had already begun our repairs (we had several huge oak trees fall on our house). I couldn't set here for 4 mos. and wait on them with no roof!! Also, if you have insurance (which everyone is supposed to have anyway), they are not going to help you.

I told DH that I felt like saving my insurance money every month and just wait for the government to bail me out in the next disaster!

You all are not forgotten. There are people out there who know what you've been through and can appreciate your situation. You just keep on being there for your family and you will come through this much stronger and closer than ever before! I know it seems hard now and like you'll never get through it...but one day it will be a memory (albeit an extremely bad one). I will keep you in my thoughts and hope and pray that you all get back to normal as soon as possible.

 

[Debbie7452]

I know a little of what you are going through. I am in Tomball and we still have no power or water. I am terrified the septic will back up with so little water flushing through the system. We are flushing toilets with water from the kids above ground pool. I thank god every day for all the water in that silly pool.

We are "camping" in our home also and it's tiresome, but we are blessed to have a borrowed generator. I have been told that FEMA will reimburse you for the generator if you can get your hands on one. It has made such a difference in our quality of life during this difficult time. While we can't run everything, we have our refrigerator, TV, computer, and a few fans plugged in. When I need to plug in the coffee pot or the microwave, I unplug something else. I have to cook on the burner for the outside gas grill or use the plug in griddle.

When we run out of water jugs, my DH takes the generator out to the well house and hooks it up for a while. Then I wash dishes, fill up jugs, etc...DS 2 didn't care much for his cold bath today! I don't know how he rigged up the generator to the well but somehow he makes it work.

There is a bright side...my four kids have a new found appreciation for electricity. You are not alone, if that helps at all!

 

[davishalfdoz]

It does help and I do realize that we are not alone and that there are many that were not as fortunate as us. There is just a breaking point were you have to get it out. I knew the board would be a safe place to vent my frustration. If I had vented at home, it could have started an arguement with my overly stressed out husband who has had to work 90 hours last week and doesn't know when he will be off again.

Thanks and good luck to all my "neighbors". You are all in my prayers.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hey Amy--and all you neighbors around here!! We are in Lumberton and we were okay in the storm-just fences down and no electricity. I think they got ours back on Wed. night or Thursday. We came home Sat. night--after the storm we left on Sat afternoon and went to stay with my mom. After a few days, we finally got a room---when Rita came , we were reimbursed for our hotel stay. Dh called our ins agent & they told us they did that as a courtesy last time and would not be doing that again. WOW. Well, I am sooo glad that they did last time, because we were gone 2 weeks. This trip was much shorter, but I don't think Fema will be helping many people as much as they are going to need. We went to Bridge City yesterday to check on a guys house that my hubby built last year. It's pretty high on the lot and he still had 3 feet of water in there. so, he's having to demo and start over halfway down all through the house. The whole neighborhood flooded. They have said that in the Bridge City city limits, only 15 houses didn't flood. Isn't that crazy? And Orange & Orangefield and all that area are just as bad.

Hang in there Amy---I 'll be praying for you!

 

[davishalfdoz]

Well, the power has been restored and things can only get better from here, right? Now that the house isn't in complete darkness, we can start to assess the damage. I just found that there was a leak from my range hood to a crack in my stovetop. Luckily it had been cracked previously, or we may have not known the water was in it until it shorted out .

I will continue to pray for all my neighbors in hopes that everyone can return to some sort of normalcy. Overall, there are so many wonderful people that came to help were they could, from the neighbors with chainsaws that cleared the roads to the men from the many states and countries that worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands. I thank you all.

God Bless!

 

[Munchkin'sMommy]

A very good friend of mine lives in Pearland and her house was destroyed. She said that the roof was blown off and what was left of the roof, just collapsed. They had major water damage inside their house and she said it was a total loss due to all the water damage and structural damage as well. She also said they lost one of their vehichles as well. Another friend of mine is an attorney and works in downtown Houston. His high rise building was destroyed and he has been relocated to Austin to work.

I hope all of you affected will recover quickly.

 

[cttjones]

You are not alone. Please know this. I went through this with Katrina and Gustav. Katrina was not as bad for us, because of the side of the strom we were on, but Gustav..... man. We went 8 days without power. It is tough.

I have NO faith in FEMA. It is a joke! Just like you said, it makes honest people not want to have insurance just wait on the government to bail you out. When these national disaster happen, they effect people of all backgrounds and circumstances. It simply is NOT fair that because we are not POOR we can not receive help during a NATURAL DISASTER. Example:
Our family members lost EVERYTHING in Gustav. They had a tree go though the center of their home which messed up the structure of their home so severly that they could not even get on the roof of their home to put a tarp on it. It was literally raining in their home and they could not get inside to remove anything due to fears the house would collapse. 5 days later after they have been staying with family with only the clothes on their backs, FEMA says they will pay for them to go to a hotel, BUT it has to be a hotel of FEMA's choice. Of course no hotels in the area had avialablity in Baton Rouge b/c the state had shut down booking for hotels with the exception of emergency workers. Basically they had to go to Houston, TX or Jackson, MS to get to a hotel to stay at a FEMA APPROVED hotel. What a joke! They couldn't work even after people started going back to work (about a week later) b/c they were trying to get things situated living with a family member. They go to try to get the EMERGENCY food stamps, have NEVER had govt assistance before, and were denied b/c NORMALLY their income would have been above the income limits. What makes emergency food stamp different from regular food stamps? You would think an Emergency! So what did they do? Relying on the love and generosity of family of friends, and wait on the insurance company. What a great system we have in place. True honest working people who just need help to get back on their feet can't even get help when they lose everything, but had they been living of the govt they would have been given all kinds of help and money. It is sad.

Apparently, I needed to vent as well.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that your frustrations and concerns are heard and valid. It does not pay to middle class in America. I will be thinking of you and your family and hoping for the best. God bless!

 

[AngelBabyJana]

It does help and I do realize that we are not alone and that there are many that were not as fortunate as us. There is just a breaking point were you have to get it out. I knew the board would be a safe place to vent my frustration. If I had vented at home, it could have started an arguement with my overly stressed out husband who has had to work 90 hours last week and doesn't know when he will be off again.

Thanks and good luck to all my "neighbors". You are all in my prayers.

Hey Amy, I totally understand your frustration, and your need to vent. I think this situation has been hard on everyone that was impacted by Ike, and I understand exactly where you are coming from.

My sister lives in Dayton as well, and she got her electricity back on last night ..... perhaps you did as well??? If not, then I hope that it is back on soon!

We live in Houston (Northshore/Channelview area) - we evacuated to Dallas during the storm - we came back the Sunday after, and found our neighborhood really torn up (trees on houses, cars, etc...). Thankfully there was no damage done to our house, and our pets were all fine. We were without power for 6 days, lost all the food in our fridge & freezer, plus my hubby hasn't been able to go back to work yet (he works in the BP Plant in Texas City). FEMA won't help out with any of that of course (including the Dallas hotel), since we had no property damage. I understand that alot of people have it way worse than us (and my thoughts & prayers are with all of them), but when your regular way of living changes then it really does impact everyone, all in different ways of course. While I don't have faith in FEMA at all, I have seen other Texans pulling together to help each other out during this time ..... it has been amazing (everything from cutting each others trees to sharing food).

This past week has been crazy for us all, everything from waiting in line hours for gas, lines that wrapped around the store to get into Walmart (only 50 people allowed in at once), waiting in a line 2 miles long just for food, water, & ice (and you have to wait since you can't get it anywhere else!). It has definitely given us a new appreciation for the daily things in life that we often take for granted.

As for the PP from Galveston, my thoughts & prayers are with you & the others from Galveston who lost or had damage to their homes. For everyone else, hang in there, I'm sure that we will get back to our "normal" routines soon.

And by the way - Hey Shawna (Disney Mommy 3), I just had to say "Hi!" I was wondering how your family was impacted by the storm. I didn't realize that you live in Lumberton - my niece is selling her trailer in Lumberton to buy a home in Florida, my other two niece's are in Beaumont & Mauriceville. Glad to hear that you and your family are safe! Email me soon!

 

[2poohbears]

Just wanted to jump in and let you know I can empathize as well, having had some damage from Gustav, without electricity for 2 weeks afterward, then getting through Ike. My dh is a 1st responder, so he's been in the thick of most of it.

What I have found here is the same as the others have posted---FEMA is a bad joke. They just as soon leave because I can't see anyone they've helped around here. Someone above mentioned FEMA will reimburse for a generator --- be careful---FEMA "claims" they will reimburse generators on a case by case basis for those who need one for medical reasons only. Good luck with that one. Some insurance companies, however, will reimburse you for half the cost of a generator (Farm Bureau will - up to $1500, I believe) if you had to purchase one - so you might check into that. Let's not even discuss the huge hurricane deductibles everyone is dealing with, on top of the expense in evacuating. We've found in South Central Louisiana that it's locals who are helping each other, along with religious groups who have come in from other communities, as well as non-profits like Salvation Army and Red Cross.

Our damage was minimal, and we'll get through this season, as we always do. We are all stronger than we realize, I think, and we'll get through it a day at a time. It certainly does get tiring, and depressing at times. I'm so sorry for those of you who have had so much more damage to endure. Hang in there. It helps to vent in a place like this one - because your family carries the same issues you do, it's difficult to let it all out to them, I know. Vent any time...we'll listen.

 

[NannyC]

Disney Mommy 3, I am also in Lumberton. We had no major damage either. After Hurricane Rita our electricity was out for 3 weeks, this time they were back on Thursday after the storm. We had a generator, and I had 10 family members that just got their lights back on and were able to return home yesterday.

DH and I helped a friend salvage what she could from her apartment in Bridge City. She had 6ft. of water in it. The devastation in that town is something else. I truly feel for all who have lost everything.

 

[davishalfdoz]

You are not alone. Please know this. I went through this with Katrina and Gustav. Katrina was not as bad for us, because of the side of the strom we were on, but Gustav..... man. We went 8 days without power. It is tough.

I have NO faith in FEMA. It is a joke! Just like you said, it makes honest people not want to have insurance just wait on the government to bail you out. When these national disaster happen, they effect people of all backgrounds and circumstances. It simply is NOT fair that because we are not POOR we can not receive help during a NATURAL DISASTER. Example:
Our family members lost EVERYTHING in Gustav. They had a tree go though the center of their home which messed up the structure of their home so severly that they could not even get on the roof of their home to put a tarp on it. It was literally raining in their home and they could not get inside to remove anything due to fears the house would collapse. 5 days later after they have been staying with family with only the clothes on their backs, FEMA says they will pay for them to go to a hotel, BUT it has to be a hotel of FEMA's choice. Of course no hotels in the area had avialablity in Baton Rouge b/c the state had shut down booking for hotels with the exception of emergency workers. Basically they had to go to Houston, TX or Jackson, MS to get to a hotel to stay at a FEMA APPROVED hotel. What a joke! They couldn't work even after people started going back to work (about a week later) b/c they were trying to get things situated living with a family member. They go to try to get the EMERGENCY food stamps, have NEVER had govt assistance before, and were denied b/c NORMALLY their income would have been above the income limits. What makes emergency food stamp different from regular food stamps? You would think an Emergency! So what did they do? Relying on the love and generosity of family of friends, and wait on the insurance company. What a great system we have in place. True honest working people who just need help to get back on their feet can't even get help when they lose everything, but had they been living of the govt they would have been given all kinds of help and money. It is sad.

Apparently, I needed to vent as well.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that your frustrations and concerns are heard and valid. It does not pay to middle class in America. I will be thinking of you and your family and hoping for the best. God bless!

I will add your family to my prayer list. The ony positive I can think of is that we prove to ourselves how resilient we are. It also reinforces that we must do everything we can to help ourselves and our neighbors, because we are all we have.

Hey Amy, I totally understand your frustration, and your need to vent. I think this situation has been hard on everyone that was impacted by Ike, and I understand exactly where you are coming from.

My sister lives in Dayton as well, and she got her electricity back on last night ..... perhaps you did as well??? If not, then I hope that it is back on soon!

We live in Houston (Northshore/Channelview area) - we evacuated to Dallas during the storm - we came back the Sunday after, and found our neighborhood really torn up (trees on houses, cars, etc...). Thankfully there was no damage done to our house, and our pets were all fine. We were without power for 6 days, lost all the food in our fridge & freezer, plus my hubby hasn't been able to go back to work yet (he works in the BP Plant in Texas City). FEMA won't help out with any of that of course (including the Dallas hotel), since we had no property damage. I understand that alot of people have it way worse than us (and my thoughts & prayers are with all of them), but when your regular way of living changes then it really does impact everyone, all in different ways of course. While I don't have faith in FEMA at all, I have seen other Texans pulling together to help each other out during this time ..... it has been amazing (everything from cutting each others trees to sharing food).

This past week has been crazy for us all, everything from waiting in line hours for gas, lines that wrapped around the store to get into Walmart (only 50 people allowed in at once), waiting in a line 2 miles long just for food, water, & ice (and you have to wait since you can't get it anywhere else!). It has definitely given us a new appreciation for the daily things in life that we often take for granted.

As for the PP from Galveston, my thoughts & prayers are with you & the others from Galveston who lost or had damage to their homes. For everyone else, hang in there, I'm sure that we will get back to our "normal" routines soon.

And by the way - Hey Shawna (Disney Mommy 3), I just had to say "Hi!" I was wondering how your family was impacted by the storm. I didn't realize that you live in Lumberton - my niece is selling her trailer in Lumberton to buy a home in Florida, my other two niece's are in Beaumont & Mauriceville. Glad to hear that you and your family are safe! Email me soon!

Small world, huh? I too got power back yesterday. We were part of the last 10% of Sam Houston Electric Coop to come back up. I was so thankful. I had my son run around the neighborhood telling everyone that still had generators going. Everyone had their main breakers off, so they didn't know power was restored. We found out be accident.

I am so glad that your family was only minimally impacted as was mine. I can say that looking back. In the frustration of power outage and no water, it was harder to see how blessed we were.

Just wanted to jump in and let you know I can empathize as well, having had some damage from Gustav, without electricity for 2 weeks afterward, then getting through Ike. My dh is a 1st responder, so he's been in the thick of most of it.

What I have found here is the same as the others have posted---FEMA is a bad joke. They just as soon leave because I can't see anyone they've helped around here. Someone above mentioned FEMA will reimburse for a generator --- be careful---FEMA "claims" they will reimburse generators on a case by case basis for those who need one for medical reasons only. Good luck with that one. Some insurance companies, however, will reimburse you for half the cost of a generator (Farm Bureau will - up to $1500, I believe) if you had to purchase one - so you might check into that. Let's not even discuss the huge hurricane deductibles everyone is dealing with, on top of the expense in evacuating. We've found in South Central Louisiana that it's locals who are helping each other, along with religious groups who have come in from other communities, as well as non-profits like Salvation Army and Red Cross.

Our damage was minimal, and we'll get through this season, as we always do. We are all stronger than we realize, I think, and we'll get through it a day at a time. It certainly does get tiring, and depressing at times. I'm so sorry for those of you who have had so much more damage to endure. Hang in there. It helps to vent in a place like this one - because your family carries the same issues you do, it's difficult to let it all out to them, I know. Vent any time...we'll listen.

Glad to hear your family is okay, also. There are so many rumors about what will be covered and what is not. I haven't even heard back from my insurance yet. I am sure they are very busy, but a phone call would be nice. We too will make it through another season. And really we have been blessed that this is the first big storm in this area in about 25 years.

To all my new disfriends, thanks for being there to listen and support. I am so glad that I have found this refuge.

I pray for all of those effected and especially those that are returning to Galveston today and seeing the devastation for the first time, that was there home.

Again thank you!

 

[hcmommy]

My Dad lives in. As of yesterday he still had no power, wonder if he got it overnight too? I hope so.

We were w/o power for 6 days with a 6 mo. old baby and 2 1/2 yo but atleast had water and a gas stove to cook on, hot showers, etc. It could have been so much worse, but I feel your pain and I'm glad your power is back on!

 

[2poohbears]

fyi---if any of you find your water is smelly (ours is STILL not back to normal since Gustav, although it's improving), try adding a little Borax to your washing machine detergent when washing your clothing. It helps to keep the yucky smell to a minimum.

 

[carmie3377]

A very good friend of mine lives in Pearland and her house was destroyed. She said that the roof was blown off and what was left of the roof, just collapsed. They had major water damage inside their house and she said it was a total loss due to all the water damage and structural damage as well. She also said they lost one of their vehichles as well. Another friend of mine is an attorney and works in downtown Houston. His high rise building was destroyed and he has been relocated to Austin to work.

I hope all of you affected will recover quickly.

Wow! I live in Pearland and didn't know that there was that type of damage here! In our subdivision and the surrounding ones, there were a bunch of fences down, small trees uprooted and singles blown off but nothing like you described. We left right after Ike and just returned on Sunday (due to 9 days w/o power) and didn't do a bunch of driving around. We saw some power lines down and stuff, but nothing like you described. So sorry to hear about your friend's losses.

 

[seashoreCM]

Too bad the people don't know how to mobilize and get things done with self help helping each other. All the junior high and high school kids should be involved, seven days a week dawn to dusk*. Perhaps with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts for leadership.

Cooking and serving meals in vacant lots, sorting donated clothing trucked in, putting tarps on roofs, standing line to apply for benefits and do group buys of nonperishable groceries, are just a few things that an "army" of teenagers could accomplish while their parents are at work.

Persons living far from stores should minimize the need for ice and things requireing ice.

I could go on for a long time about how people used to live without automobiles, public transportation, electricity, etc. but that would be too far off topic.

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

*Don't forget, summer vacation was invented so children could help out with farm chores many of which "came due" at that time.