IKE

6:30pm - about 8 hrs before storm:

The timeline: It was really sunny and nice all day on Friday. We were granted leave from work at 2pm on Thursday and full off day on Friday to prepare. We had supplies from Eduard or Gustav and we had our hurricane kit ready to go, so I went to Spec's. Spec's is a great place to get ANY type, style, brand of adult beverages: stocked up on wine and beer. After Spec's, raided the ATM for some cash and went home. Friday night/Saturday morning Ike made landfall at 2AM on the Galveston Island. We are about 70 miles NNW of Galveston, so we were feeling TS force winds +35mph sustained from about 10pm on. Around midnight it started getting really bad - hard to sleep when gusts of 80mph and +65mph sustained winds thrashed trees and buildings. 4AM the power was out and the storm still raged.

Having never experienced a tornado or hurricane - I can only compare it to thunderstorms. Usually, when a really bad T-storm comes through, the front end of the storm is where the wind whips, trees thrash, and heavy rain comes in sideways. This storm was the front end of a really bad t-storm that lasted 6 hrs. I kept thinking the power was coming back on while in my half dazed stress sleep, but it was only lighting strikes. Honestly, because we are on the West side of the storm, we had the weaker side - the East side of hurricanes is the more severe side.

Then it rained, in a relaxed way, for most of the day Saturday. Mid-day Saturday was clear enough to catch your breath, and access some damage. The photos here were taken at that time.Saturday night, however, a cold front came through and rocked a severe t-storm, dumping lightning and several inches on an already soaked region. After this storm, because of the flooding, is when we lost water.

Sunday afternoon, as we contemplated post-storm evacuation, the power returned - soon after cable - soon after cell phone coverage was more secure - and gradually the water was full pressure.

Its two days after the strong CAT2 hurricane, Ike, passed over the greater Houston area. The comparative day and a half of peace after the storm: no A/C's (no electric), no traffic (many vacated city after storm), no people (curfew from 9pm to 6am), no wind (really, no wind what-so-ever), has been broken by the gas powered saws and blowers and machinery of debris management. Relative to damage, our complex is average to light: downed trees, gutters, shingles, some flooding where flooding should occur, loss of power, cable, and water for a couple of days.

The view from our porch where we steamed shrimp on a propane camping burner on Saturday:

Our apt is the second floor corner, now shielded by 1/3 of a tree:

The forest to the right of the image above; soggy boggy ground and uprooted tree:

The tennis courts/detention pond with a few snapped off trees. This picture was taken before an all night severe thunderstorm - notice the bench in the courts...after the T-storm, water was up to and over the seat of that bench:

A tree taking a dip:
So, we are safe, have water and electric, plenty of food and fuel, entertainment and no J.O.B at least until Wednesday. We are blessed and lucky compared to some of our neighbors just down the street. The hardest hit as I'm sure you have seen on T.V. have been the Southern areas. There are runs on gas and food and ice and sometimes it gets ugly: police have to be stationed at gas stations. FEMA - well, not sure...there was some miscommunication between state, local, and federal government, but it was only a delay of supplies for a couple of hours (allegedly). But you know, there is NO reason an average citizen can't have two or three days of non-perishable food items on hand to get you through until FEMA's MRE's show up. There is probably a days worth in perishable food that should have been eaten when power went down. Look in your refrigerator and freezer right now. What's in there? You have about a day to eat all of that food. Will that keep you fed for a day? Its sad and confusing, the state of cities and heavily populated areas when tragedy...not even unexpected, oh my god a plane just took out a building, or two minutes ago a siren went off and now my house has blown away, or its been raining for two days and now the creek is in my yard...but a week to almost two weeks of watching a storm blow across a 1000 mile Gulf. Stay tuned. Might go for a bike ride and watch 4hr long lines for gas.