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We Survived Hurricane Ike...
Hello fellow Lumberjocks,
As you know, Hurricane Ike came calling on us down in the Houston area causing a significant amount of destruction. This has been one of the worst storms I can remember and I have lived in the Houston area all my life. We were without power, land phone, Internet and cell phone service for several days. Food and petrol were not available in stores. Since there was no electricity, very few businesses were open or working.
We waited in line for four hours for ice and water, up to a day in line for a few litres of petrol. Six hours in line to buy a generator, six more to get a flat fixed. Then the ice and water ran out at the FEMA POD location we used… Although FEMA helped some, at times they ran out of disaster supplies after waiting in line for hours. Those folks did a heroic job with what they had and we really appreciated everything they did to help us.
Although we purchased a generator, there were only a couple of petrol stations in the area working where we could buy fuel. Lines stretched for blocks to get what little fuel was available. We ran our generator on petrol we siphoned from our own cars and what we had on hand for lawnmowers. We have since had our power restored and food and petrol are much easier to get now, but we're not totally back to normal.
Many areas and businesses are still without power. When you go the the stores, dairy and fresh produce, as well as bread are in short supply. I spent several days cutting trees that had blown over into neighbours homes and across their driveways. It's been difficult, but we're slowly getting back to normal.
Through it all, we were very lucky though… Our home suffered no significant damage (only fencing was blown over), but neighbours around me were not so lucky. Several had trees blown into their homes or garages, causing extensive damage to the structure and water damage inside their homes. Everywhere you look trees are down, or piled up for collection. We had about 14 hours of constant wind and rain, totalling more than 20 inches in a 36 hour period at our home. I've spent several days trying to clean up the branches and debris the storm left, so time has been short to non-existent for anything not related to storm cleanup.
Folks nearer to the coast lost everything… All that's left in many coastal areas is flattened slabs and debris. According to the news, 26 people have died as a result of the storm in Texas, although it is feared that many, many more were swept out to sea and may never be found. Please keep victims of the storm in your prayers, as we all try to rebuild and get back to normal. Take care and best wishes to you and yours!
Steve Russell
Hello fellow Lumberjocks,
As you know, Hurricane Ike came calling on us down in the Houston area causing a significant amount of destruction. This has been one of the worst storms I can remember and I have lived in the Houston area all my life. We were without power, land phone, Internet and cell phone service for several days. Food and petrol were not available in stores. Since there was no electricity, very few businesses were open or working.
We waited in line for four hours for ice and water, up to a day in line for a few litres of petrol. Six hours in line to buy a generator, six more to get a flat fixed. Then the ice and water ran out at the FEMA POD location we used… Although FEMA helped some, at times they ran out of disaster supplies after waiting in line for hours. Those folks did a heroic job with what they had and we really appreciated everything they did to help us.
Although we purchased a generator, there were only a couple of petrol stations in the area working where we could buy fuel. Lines stretched for blocks to get what little fuel was available. We ran our generator on petrol we siphoned from our own cars and what we had on hand for lawnmowers. We have since had our power restored and food and petrol are much easier to get now, but we're not totally back to normal.
Many areas and businesses are still without power. When you go the the stores, dairy and fresh produce, as well as bread are in short supply. I spent several days cutting trees that had blown over into neighbours homes and across their driveways. It's been difficult, but we're slowly getting back to normal.
Through it all, we were very lucky though… Our home suffered no significant damage (only fencing was blown over), but neighbours around me were not so lucky. Several had trees blown into their homes or garages, causing extensive damage to the structure and water damage inside their homes. Everywhere you look trees are down, or piled up for collection. We had about 14 hours of constant wind and rain, totalling more than 20 inches in a 36 hour period at our home. I've spent several days trying to clean up the branches and debris the storm left, so time has been short to non-existent for anything not related to storm cleanup.
Folks nearer to the coast lost everything… All that's left in many coastal areas is flattened slabs and debris. According to the news, 26 people have died as a result of the storm in Texas, although it is feared that many, many more were swept out to sea and may never be found. Please keep victims of the storm in your prayers, as we all try to rebuild and get back to normal. Take care and best wishes to you and yours!
Steve Russell
