I would like to start this post with a hearty thank you to all my friends who have called and emailed me regarding my family living in the Gulf Coast region. Your thoughts and prayers meant alot to my parents and siblings.
As you all know Hurricane Ike blew into Galveston and Houston early this morning. Ike was a Category 2 hurricane which means his winds were 96mph-110mph. That's some strong wind. I talked off and on with my Mom and Sister until about 10 or 11 last night. They were all doing just fine at that time. I called first thing this morning and my mom reports that everyone survived the night, they lost a pear tree and part of the fence. The power went out about 3:45 am but they have a generator to use for lights.
I have to say yesterday was a very stressful day as far as the news goes. It seemed like every news agency and state agency were predicting the end of life for Southeast Texas. I was really frustrated by it all. They went as far as to say that if you stayed home and lived in 1 story or 2 story house you were certain to die. How stupid is that? Why would you tell people that? I would have thought with the debacle of Rita 3 years ago they would want to keep everyone from freaking out and rushing to no where.
But, lets face it anyone who lives outside of a hurricane zone has no idea what it is like to deal with them. They are not the same as a tornado where you have little to no warning they are coming. Hurricanes take days to form and you can only predict how bad it will be. If you live anywhere near a hurricane zone you know how to start preparing in June and you always have supplies on hand. Most people have generators for when the power goes out. Typically unless you live near the coast, the bay, the rivers or the bayous you don't have too much flooding. It is usually the streets in those areas that flood. Those who live by the water have the house flooding that you see on the news.
Yesterday, after reading for the umpteenth time about how the entire island of Galveston was going to be destroyed and all of southeast Texas was going to be Katrina all over again. I stopped reading the national news and went to the Houston Chronicle and the Galveston Daily News for reports. The mayor of Galveston was in a bit of a "doom and gloom" phase and telling her citizens they would die if they stayed. But for the most part the meteorologists were more rational and sticking to the points of what to expect. So far there have been no mentions of death, but they are still just getting to the point of getting out. I am not sure if they have been able to get out into the community on Galveston island or not yet.
The other thing I see over and over is people complaining about those who decided to stay instead of evacuate. You have to keep in mind that Galveston is an island, they are use to flooding and storms. But also there are not that many places to go. A lot of people can not afford to stay in a hotel much less drive hundreds of miles to stay in a hotel. A lot of people are remembering Rita and being stuck on the freeways for days and not getting anywhere. According to my sister it was almost impossible to find gas. So you get out on the road heading to Dallas or San Antonio with millions of other people who are looking for gas and housing and you are stuck. They did set up a few shelters but sometimes those are worse than the storm. Galveston has a large population of seniors and they don't want to leave their homes. They were prepared for the hurricane and the city was honest with them by telling them they would not risk their firefighters and police by coming out in the storm to get them. And true to their word they told hundreds who called for help that they could not come until the storm passed.
As of a few minutes ago there is substantial damage to trees and some buildings but only 1 death that I can find. This could change as they start the process of looking through buildings and the water starts to go down. I will let you know if anything major pops up.
Thanks again for your prayers and concern.