Hunkering down in TX...We don't like Ike!

[Madi100]

I hope everyone is staying safe! You are all in my prayers.

 

[jordancej]

We grew up going to my grandpa's beach houses in Surfside beach (near freeport), i am guessing those will be gone or completely destroyed since they were one block/house from the beach.

Here are pics of surfside, http://www.flickr.com/photos/beachadam/ I grew up in Lake Jackson. Surfside, lost 20 homes, and there is alot of damage. My mom and sister live in Lake Jackson, they are still without power. Mom lost 2 huge oaktrees.... right now 1.76 million households are without power its about 73% of Reliants Electric customers. Please keep South Texas in your prayers...

 

[tiberius]

Thanks to all for the kind words of support and well-wishes.

We took nearly the full force of Ike's power as we were in the path of the eye of the storm, although we were off to the western edge of it, so we did not get quite as much rain. We did exceed 11 inches of rain--not counting what fell sideways and missed the rain guage. There is heavy damage from wind as many powers lines have snapped or been toppled by trees. I think this storm took a similar path to Hurricane Alicia in 1983 (or so) but this one di much more damage. We are being told it may be weeks for repairs to phones and electric. Gasoline is hard to come by, but food is generally somewhat available.

I have little patience for many of the complainers as we had been told for the last week to keep our gas tanks full, and to buy food and water, etc... and my family did so and we will be good for several more days as all the services come back up. (Restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations are already starting to open on generator power where there is no electricity.)

I want to tell you people that while some are griping because FEMA's trucks did not materialize out of thin air , the second the storm passed, they were on site within 24 hours and have been in increasing numbers since that time with the local govts and the Red Cross seeming to me to be doing a great job working to help people. This is such a huge area I didn't think any group could get out so many resorces as quickly as they did. It has to be hard to help the worst off when everyone seems to be bad off. All those groups (public, private, government, ...) are to be congratulated.

I work for a water office (3rd largest in my county) and have managed to keep my customers in water without interuption, for most of them it is the only service they have left and they are appreciative. My office is running off a generator (as are the water plants) and we managed to get phone lines back up for service (somehow DSL is still up, too) here, so I can get this out.

It will be awhile before I can get back to the boards but thanks again for all your support!

PS - We invented the Hunker Down drinking game to pass the time, you get to take a drink every time the news says the phrase "Hunker Down"....it went well until we lost power, although we would've run out of drinks soon anyway!

 

[safetymom]

I am glad you are ok.

I agree with you about the complainers. It always amazed me here in FL the people that were complaining. They had advance warning that they didn't heed about stocking up with supplies and water.

Take care.

 

[Carolinagal]

Well, never under-estimate the power of a Cat 2 storm, I say. Despite being 70 miles from the coast, we definitely saw an impact.

Lots and lots of wind damage - in my yard, trees down, phone and power out until last night. Gas is hard to find, but beginning to show up around town. We were lucky though, no broken windows, and manageable roof damage. Ironically, the hurricane was not as big a problem as the tornado the next day.

The phone has been the most troublesome - neither my cell, landline, DSL, or aircard worked, so had no way to contact anyone. I am lucky though, my brother and sister still do not have power, and will not have for at least a week, maybe up to three.

Schools have been closed all week, due to power outages and wind damage. My office opened up right away, but on generator power. My workgroup survived pretty well - only one house flooded, a couple of roofs with extra ventilation, and trees down. All healthy and accounted for.

There were some things I didn't expect, though. I know of at least two families who had medical emergencies with elderly parents at the height of the storm, when 911 was not able to send help. In one case, the mom fainted and could not be revived for several minutes. Emergency crews were not able to send an ambulance, but did call several times and check her condition, and she is OK now. Sadly, another case was not as lucky. Grandma collapsed, and despite 2 hours of CPR, was unable to be saved.

We have also had a huge problem with generator-related carbon monoxide deaths - people keeping them in garages and kitchens assuming they have enough ventilation. At one time, 99% of Houston and surrounding areas were without power. It's better today, but many are without and will stay dark for a while.

Clean up will take a while - as you can imagine, finding repair help is a challenge. But we Texans are a tough (ok, stubborn!) breed.

Thanks for all your well wishes -

 

[Tink rules]

My sister is going to complain cause the Molly Maids won't be there this week!!!

She is going home tomorrow - packing food in her suitcases... doesn't know what she will find - they have electricity - even for Clear Lake but they think they are on a grid line that didn't go down...

Should be fun... I know she won't stay around anymore for these storms...