Hurricane

[veginator]

Has anyone heard from Michelle or any other members in the Houston area (I think there's more than one)? The hurricane hit that area pretty hard. I assume most everybody down there is without power and, therefore, without computers for a while anyway, though.

[robert]

I haven't in a while....I should check in. I know Michelle and Ed don't post much anymore....I don't follow news either, so I better check out what's going on.

 

I heard a bit about it on TV at my friend's house where I'm staying. I hope it wasn't too bad down there......looking it up now...

[SeaSiren]

My ex and his girlfriend live down there. Everyone pretty much evacuated inland. Last I heard, the area will not have electricity for several days or possibly weeks. Keeping my prayers going for those in the area. Thus far everyone I know, thank goodness, has been OK.

[robert]

I read a bit about it...it sounded really scary and devastating.

[Michelle]

We're OK!

 

We were without power until this morning, though. From what I've read, over half of the area is still without power. Thankfully we had a cold front come through right after, so we were comfortable even without the air conditioner. Cell phone service was spotty and unreliable.

 

I didn't get a photo of it, but when the grocery stores re-opened there was a very long line in the parking lot just to get in the store. I keep food & water for emergencies, so I didn't stand in that line. The lines at the gas stations were 30+ cars deep and the few gas stations that were open were running out of fuel.

 

We're just north of Houston and about 75 miles from the beach in Galveston, but we still got hit fairly hard. My son's school is cancelled until next week. Mine is cancelled until at least tomorrow.

 

A few photos we took on Saturday:

 

Here's the view from our balcony. Not much damage here, besides branches and leaves all over the place, but we were very nervous about those trees! Some of the big ones were leaning rather far in the direction of our apartment.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0227.jpg

 

An uprooted tree, about a half a block away:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0179.jpg

 

A torn up sign and leaning lightpost, a block away in the other direction:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0208.jpg

 

Within a block of home:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0183.jpg

 

This one just missed a house:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0197.jpg

 

The storage place across the street. They lost most of their fence, plus had a roof lift off one building and land on top of the other one:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0178.jpg

 

A very cool photo my son took:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0228.jpg

[SeaSiren]

So glad to hear you all are safe!

[robert]

Happy to hear you are well and happy to see you

[hsorlando]

Wow, those photos bring back memories of when hurricane charley hit Orlando. There were huge 50 year old oak trees just uprooted like they were twigs. And so many electric poles, wires, lights down. And so many houses with damage. I hope everything gets settled and up and running soon.

[TigreBella]

Wow! Glad you're ok, Michelle! And good picture-taking skills!

 

My parents are in Louisiana, in the Terrebonne Parish area, and that hurricane gave everyone to the east of it a horrible blow (as far as flood waters go)! My mom said that their home got flood waters so high that it reached the doornob, and so much of their belongings got ruined (just like Hurricane Rita did a few years ago). Their huge freezer got flipped to its side, so all her frozen foods were laying in the flood waters and rotting in the house until they were able to get home to clean up. Her car got ruined as well, since they evacuated in their truck. They finally will have financial help getting their home raised (if they choose), whereas when they had similar flooding for Rita they got denied help! They don't know yet whether to move or stay and raise (they'd be left paying 25% of raising their home after their insurance covers its share). They said FEMA is denying people left and right for help (which, don't get me started on my thoughts about FEMA ).

 

It's horrible how much many people suffer from all this. I've had my fair share of hurricanes (Hurricane Rita was my worst memory of them!), and I'm glad I left home not long after Hurricane Rita. I've learned that it's best to live more inland (or at least away from the east and south coasts, where hurricanes mostly go), and also my husband and I are learning more and more to just part with our material possessions that are not needed (we already got rid of TVs, microwave, picture frames [we keep the pictures locked away in a box], childhood junk, lol). We have moved a couple times just in the last 2 years! We joke about it often about how mobile we now are becoming, and how man was never meant to stay in one place. Either way, though, I think it's a learning experience to go through these things (like for me, I lost nearly ALL of my possessions in Hurricane Rita, and it changed my life). I wish my parents would just move, rather than keep dealing with hurricanes, but they have many reasons to stay...all my dad knows is trawling (he's been catching and selling shrimp all his life, just like his father) and so his boat is his life, his mother's nearby and he probably doesn't want to leave her, the rest of my family is nearby them too, and I'm sure the list can go on. So...I just keep having to deal with it and hoping that they're ok each time, and then dealing with hearing my mom cry and talk about all they lost from it, and wishing I could help.