Hurricane Ike - Aftermath

[TxDsnyGrl74]

I’ve quickly scanned through many pages, and I’m so surprised to see little discussion on the Ike aftermath. I can tell you that the people of the Texas Gulf Coast are really suffering and need our country’s support and prayers right now.

My family lives in a small community that has given an estimate that the power won’t be restored for 4-6 weeks. Ike destroyed the infrastructure that brings power into the town which has to be repaired.

My sister-in-law got in line for gas (needed to run a generator) at 6 a.m. this morning, and by 1 p.m. she wasn’t anywhere near the front of the line. I still don’t know if she was able to get gas or not.

The local Wal-Mart is only letting a ‘few customers in at a time’ to buy what limited supplies are on the shelves.

Schools are cancelled until further notice. Curfews are in effect. No city services including garbage pick up. The courthouse is closed until further notice. Hospitals have skeleton crews.

All of these are in an area that didn’t even receive a ‘direct’ hit such as the Bolivar Peninsula or Galveston. The Texas Gulf Coast is in great need of the country’s help. Please remember you fellow American’s who are in need of help.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

I had no idea that it was that devastating. The best I can offer is my prayers.

 

[C.Ann]

It's caused major damage - not only in TX, but other areas all along the Gulf coast and then north as well..

If you have the Weather Channel, turn it on and watch it for awhile.. They keep showing the damage in different areas..

I feel bad for everyone and anyone who suffered damage and losses due to this monster of a storm..

 

[disney1990]

If you watch the news at all, I don't know how you missed how devastated the area is. But, I can understand. My DD didn't realize that the hurricane was headed straight towards one of her best friends, who lives in Houston.

I have been watching the coverage on cnn.com and also surfing cnn.com and msnbc.com

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I suspect we have not heard much on the Dis about the aftermath of Ike because the people who are directly affected don't have power. It's on all the other news stations (when they're not talking about Wall Street's mess).

I have a friend in Longview, TX (between Tyler and Shreveport) and she says she came out okay. She even has power! But the majority of her town is without power and there is a fair amount of wind damage.

The pictures coming out of the coast of Texas are awful. Some places look like a giant bulldozer went through. There's just nothing left but piles of debris.

So sad. My week is rough but it has nothing on what those people are going through. I'm praying for that area.

 

[TxDsnyGrl74]

http://jakeabby.com/cb/

Just to give you some perspective, the above is a link to a website that was created by an individual so people could try to identify their homes/or what’s left of them from aerial photographs and different videos that the media has taken. The Bolivar Peninsula is basically at a 80% loss.

For those that want to ‘really’ know what’s going on, I suggest watching the local Houston TV coverage. The national coverage has been extremely disappointing. I guess because it’s an election year, the media feels there are bigger stories to cover. I don’t know? Here is a link which shows live stream video to all 4 Houston TV channels. http://www.maroonspoon.com/wx/ike.html

 

[TxDsnyGrl74]

I agree with you Where'sPiglet . I'm sure we aren't hearing from DISers because lack of power. I'm surprised that others aren't 'speaking up' for their friends and family which can't speak for themselves right now. Anyway I just wanted to shed some light onto what people are going through right now.

 

[C.Ann]

I've been wondering about a DISer (can't remember her user name) who had recently moved to Galveston.. She was posting that she was really, really scared (had never been through a hurricane before) and was having evacuation problems..

I hope she got out - and I hope we hear from her soon..

 

[TxDsnyGrl74]

I've been wondering about a DISer (can't remember her user name) who had recently moved to Galveston.. She was posting that she was really, really scared (had never been through a hurricane before) and was having evacuation problems..

I hope she got out - and I hope we hear from her soon..

Most people got off of Galveston before the storm. The city 'was' going to allow a 'look and leave' for residents to evaluate their property and then leave which has been suspended.

Galveston 'look and leave' policy on hold

08:01 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas on Tuesday afternoon announced a “look and leave” re-entry advisory on the island between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Then, Tuesday night, she announced the program was suspended indefinitely.

On Tuesday, long lines of vehicles waited as residents tried to return to the island. Many of those waiting, would never make it to the island before the 6 p.m. deadline.

"We are in process of re-evaluating the police, but if this is what it's going to be like, we are going to have to change it," said Steve LeBlanc, Galveston City Manager.

LeBlanc said they did expect a lot of people, but the lines on Tuesday were like a tidal wave hitting them.

THE DAILY NEWS

Debris from homes demolished by storm surge from Hurricane Ike is piled several feet deep in the Spanish Grant subdivision on Galveston's West End.
"We can't get our resources in as they are all mixed up in the traffic jam," said LeBlanc.

One of the problems was that the city did not have time to set up a dedicated lane for the resources to come in and help them. According to LeBlanc, so many people returned to the island that they were not able to make any progress with the clean up, electricity restoration and other Ike-related issues.

"We have no power. We have no gas. We have no grocery stores," said LeBlanc. "We don't have a functioning hospital."

Galveston officials thought the 'look and leave' policy would help residents obtain a sense of security that their homes were still there, but instead it hampered the island's recovery process. LeBlanc said that if it continued it could end up delaying people coming back to the island to live.

"If it's going to hamper us from making progress, then obviously we can't continue the policy," said LeBlanc. "We really tried to accommodate everybody."

Officials had assumed that because the first day was only a half day, that evacuees would trickle in. But that wasn't the case.

LeBlanc said that it may be another week or two before people will be able to return in a large mass again.

"It's going to take time," said LeBlanc.

 

[Loverly]

Yeah-you have to wonder where all those ranting about the people who wouldn't evacuate are now ? (Here on the DIS)

I've seen tons of pictures from coastal western LA, coasteal TX and Houston. Those in Houston have no electricity, little food and no gas to run the generators. And this will go on for weeks...



AND will probably affect voting for the President-a HUGE state with many not able to vote!

 

[lowie]

For those that want to ‘really’ know what’s going on, I suggest watching the local Houston TV coverage. The national coverage has been extremely disappointing. I guess because it’s an election year, the media feels there are bigger stories to cover. I don’t know? Here is a link which shows live stream video to all 4 Houston TV channels.

sadly, you hit the nail on the head.. where i live we were hit hard by hurricane wilma, 3 years ago. we still have people living with blue tarps on their roofs. the media and country quickly forgot us as soon as katrina hit N.O. understandable, yes, disappointing, certainly. our country is very fickle and have terrible short term memory loss.

we need to stop sending our money and resources all over the world, looking to make friends with nations that do not appreciate our effort and keep our own people safe and secure!

every time i see a celebrity looking to collect money to send overseas it burns me up knowing that there are people suffering in THIS country over storms that were years ago and now there are new people who's lives are ruined and the gov't is more worried about collecting money/donations to waste on TV ads to get elected. and every time i see our gov't bail out the deadbeat real estate investors or the big corporations it makes my blood boil.

OP, i wish you all the luck in the world, your neck of the woods are in my thoughts constantly. i've BTDT and have the mismatched roof to show for it.

 

[C.Ann]

Lots and lots of coverage on the Weather Channel.. I'm watching it right now and can't believe some of the photos I'm seeing..

 

[AnnR]

My aunt lives in Houston during the winter. She has spoken to her neighbors down there, her house is damaged -shingles off, water in a bedroom and a bathroom. Everything in those rooms is wet. Oh and a hole in the bedroom ceiling. Her trees may or may not survive. Still, she is lucky. First, she wasn't there. Second she still has most of a house. Her neighbors are very shaken up. Said it was the worst they have ever been through. There was no evacuation order for most of Houston -just flood plain areas. I think there should have been. All the houses in my aunts neighborhood are damaged, some worse than others. One neighbor ended up in the hospital after trying to shore up a fence before the hurricane, he has a heart condition and his wife is housebound. Thankfully, this neighborhood is a good one and they are taking care of each other. They are even looking out for my aunts house.

My cousin lives close by (my aunts other niece) she went south to stay with her daughter and has not been able to go back to see what happened to her house. Right now there are 4 people, 2 cats, 2 dogs and a rabbit in a small apartment. Her work told her not to come back yet -no power. They don't know when the schools will open again (her youngest is in high school).

Why aren't we seeing the supply collections and donations to help out these people like after Katrina?

The Weather Channel has had good coverage. But CNN is falling down -I am tired of all the election bickering already.

 

[C.Ann]

But CNN is falling down -I am tired of all the election bickering already.

-----------------

I've given up on trying to find any meaningful news on any of the news channels..

Enough already!

 

[TxDsnyGrl74]

My aunt lives in Houston during the winter. She has spoken to her neighbors down there, her house is damaged -shingles off, water in a bedroom and a bathroom. Everything in those rooms is wet. Oh and a hole in the bedroom ceiling. Her trees may or may not survive. Still, she is lucky. First, she wasn't there. Second she still has most of a house. Her neighbors are very shaken up. Said it was the worst they have ever been through. There was no evacuation order for most of Houston -just flood plain areas. I think there should have been. All the houses in my aunts neighborhood are damaged, some worse than others. One neighbor ended up in the hospital after trying to shore up a fence before the hurricane, he has a heart condition and his wife is housebound. Thankfully, this neighborhood is a good one and they are taking care of each other. They are even looking out for my aunts house.

My cousin lives close by (my aunts other niece) she went south to stay with her daughter and has not been able to go back to see what happened to her house. Right now there are 4 people, 2 cats, 2 dogs and a rabbit in a small apartment. Her work told her not to come back yet -no power. They don't know when the schools will open again (her youngest is in high school).

Why aren't we seeing the supply collections and donations to help out these people like after Katrina?

The Weather Channel has had good coverage. But CNN is falling down -I am tired of all the election bickering already.

Ann, that is a very good question. So far I haven't heard of FEMA dishing out checks like they did with Katrina either. This storm was over 200-miles Wide... so many people were effected (not just in TX either).

 

[mom2grace]

All of DH's family lives in TX, his brother lives in Houston and they stayed through the hurricane and have since moved to my in-laws in Wimberly in central TX.

They were told today that Houston ISD schools might be closed for 4 weeks! After 10 days they can enroll in the school district that my in-laws live in.

Thankfully my brother and sister in law tore down their old home and built a new home in central Houston (I don't know the name of their neighborhood, but it is near the medical center) and they used concrete. They look brilliant now, although it was very costly at the time.

 

[mr.merlin]

I'm in a suburb of Houston and was luckier than most. I had only minor damage other than being without power from Friday till today. The company I work for, a local trucking company, was devastated however. The owner is trying to run the business from his home and I have all the computers at my place trying to repair them. The whole area is in trouble despite heeding (for the most part) the directives of the state and local officials (who, by the way have done an extraordianry job so far).

Despite all the problems here I've just seen the damage caused by Ike in other areas of the country from Arkansas to New York, and my heart goes out to all folks affected by this storm. Most places not on the Gulf or Atlantic coasts are unprepared for the effects of a hurricane and were blindsided.

Sometimes all the preparations don't make a whole lot of difference when confronted with the power of nature. All the folks who suffered from this storm have my thoughts and prayers.

 

[escape]

My heart goes out to all affected by this hurricane. My DH and I gave money to the Red Cross for Ike victims. I wish there was more that we could do to help other than offering our prayers.

 

[kbkids]

My husband has an aunt and two uncles who lived in Crystal Beach. Looking at those pictures is heartbreaking. Both of their houses are just gone - nothing is there!! It's so sad. They're all in their 60's and 70's - this was where they had planned to spend the rest of their lives. Their kids lived in Beaumont. They all evacuated to friends in Austin and Dallas. We haven't been able to get ahold of them yet, but we do know they got out.

Having gone through many hurricanes here in the Florida panhandle, you just never get used to it. It's so heartbreaking to see how quickly everything you've worked for can be just washed away.

 

[4greatboys]

Some pics from the Ike thread:

Here are some pictures from around my house:

My street once the winds and water started so subside some:

This is a common site at people's houses:

Gas Station by my house: