Hold on to your pants! Here comes Ike!

[littlestar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close littlestar]

We lost our front yard tree (a big one) to the remnants of Ike (and we live in Indy - amazing). Luckily it missed the house and didn't hurt anybody. The tree service we hired to come out and clean up the debris said they had an unbelievable amount of calls for trees down.

Northern Indiana has had really bad flooding. What a year it's been for strange weather.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I know Frank spoke to Mike right after the storm....any more updates from Houston?

JLB, glad u r okay....

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

The news this morning said still >1M people without power in Houston. Worse for Galveston as no one will be allowed to return to their homes for another week.

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Why some have electricty and others don't

10:20 PM CDT on Friday, September 19, 2008

By Jeremy Rogalski / 11 News

Video

Why some have electricty and others don't
Sept. 19, 2008 View larger E-mail Clip More Video HOUSTON -- Seven days after Hurricane Ike turned the lights out on more than two million electric customers, the city of Houston can be divided into the haves and have nots.

Sometimes they live on the same block.

“Why do just one or two streets have it and none of the rest do?” asked Steve Yarbrough.

Think of it this way, Centerpoint Energy's transmission lines are like the interstate with a main highway of electrical flow that feeds into the circuits, which would be like a feeder road.

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Centerpoint Energy

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Video Slideshows Blogs The circuits then connect to the power lines that run into the individual neighborhoods just like city streets.

Just like neighborhoods, some paths don't go all the way through and are fed from different electrical sources.

To restore power to the estimated two million who put in the dark during the storm, Centerpoint has to focus on fixing the major thoroughfares first and work their way down. They also prioritize on those areas with the fewest problems that can be fixed the quickest.

Most of Houston will be back in the light by next Thursday, but many areas will be lightless for yet another week.

Even if that makes sense, some customers don't want to hear it.

“If you're working on one section, why can't you just finish it off,” said Julie Fike.

Why some have electricty and others don't | TOP STORIES | KHOU.com | News for Houston, Texas

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/storms/ike/geo-C25881493.jpg

I was wondering if Peregrine Townhomes in Freeeport, TX survived. It is right on the beach there at San Luis Pas.
Does anyone out there have any info about that area ?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

As I was coming home from the golf course the third evening our power was off, I paid attention to who had lights on. The last one was the road before ours.

The next morning I called the electric company to tell them that and they said that crews were in our area, meaning within 10 miles or so. A half-hour later our electricity was on, and it was a line down on our road.

Haven't heard any more from Houston fam.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I know Frank spoke to Mike right after the storm....any more updates from Houston?

JLB, glad u r okay....

I am wondering the same thing, I know Mike was stocked up but the refrigerated items will not make it after 5 days. I know he had coolers of ice but that will not make it past 5 days either. I wonder if we can mail him dry ice?

[Hophop4 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hophop4]

We lost power Friday midnight of the storm and just got it back this Friday around 8 pm. Then Saturday we lost it again for about 40 min but it's been back since. We had trees branches and limbs come down in front and back yards and about two 6 ft sections of our wooden fence. No damage to the house. There is still a million people out of power. My neighbor across the street didnt get power until last night. The main highway where business are a block from me had power on one side of the street but the other (my side) did not. They are starting to let residents into Galveston but they cannot stay have to leave the island by 6 pm.

Silverleaf Seaside did not have any flood damage to units, they had little damage to roof and sidings and needs lots of ground cleanup. The are on the West Side of Galveston just past Jamaica Beach. There is no power, water or sewage in that area.


FEMA has been set up all over Houston giving out ice, water and food in some areas. I am on the southwest side so we have not had any problem getting ice.


Hop

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

We lost power Friday midnight of the storm and just got it back this Friday around 8 pm. Then Saturday we lost it again for about 40 min but it's been back since. We had trees branches and limbs come down in front and back yards and about two 6 ft sections of our wooden fence. No damage to the house. There is still a million people out of power. My neighbor across the street didnt get power until last night. The main highway where business are a block from me had power on one side of the street but the other (my side) did not. They are starting to let residents into Galveston but they cannot stay have to leave the island by 6 pm.

Silverleaf Seaside did not have any flood damage to units, they had little damage to roof and sidings and needs lots of ground cleanup. The are on the West Side of Galveston just past Jamaica Beach. There is no power, water or sewage in that area.



FEMA has been set up all over Houston giving out ice, water and food in some areas. I am on the southwest side so we have not had any problem getting ice.


Hop

Thanks for posting - hope u and your family continue to do well after the storm

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Mike is OK!

He tried to reach some of you but everyone was out so he called me. He was never without water and gas and his electricity has just come on. He hasn't checked the cable yet but will post soon himself.

He said that the neighbors got to know each other and helped each other out getting rid of some branches that had fallen but no damage to his home.

After a few days, some of the restaurants were open so people could get something to eat and have a ice cold drink. Refrigerators were off so food had to be thrown out after a few days but then some shops came open too so they could buy some food. The weather wasn't too hot so that helped a lot.

The eye of the storm was about 20 miles away from him and the rain was worse after the hurricane was over. He had no water damage either. I hope I gave a good report but he sounded fine.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

He tried to reach some of you but everyone was out so he called me. He was never without water and gas and his electricity has just come on. He hasn't checked the cable yet but will post soon himself.

He said that the neighbors got to know each other and helped each other out getting rid of some branches that had fallen but no damage to his home.

After a few days, some of the restaurants were open so people could get something to eat and have a ice cold drink. Refrigerators were off so food had to be thrown out after a few days but then some shops came open too so they could buy some food. The weather wasn't too hot so that helped a lot.

The eye of the storm was about 20 miles away from him and the rain was worse after the hurricane was over. He had no water damage either. I hope I gave a good report but he sounded fine.

Thank you so much Emmy - I was concerned......

Looking forward to Mike's post.

[Hophop4 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hophop4]

Glad Mike made it thru ok like us. And yes the weather was nice last week until Friday when it started to get humid again. Our power came on just in time. Living in Houston with no A/C

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

As long as neighbors has been mentioned, Ike allowed neighbors here to reacquaint themselves also.

One of our neighbors trees fell across another neighbor's yard, and into ours, the top of the tree part. None of those neighbors paid attention to it at all as we worked most of the day on the dock and cleaning up other stuff.

Then, figuring that tree would lay there forever, as does other stuff next-door, DW and I took the chainsaw to the part of the tree on our property. Immediately the tree owner was over saying he would take care of it, but go ahead if we wanted.

When we finished, all of the notorious neighbors gathered at the next-door neighbors to evaluate our work and commiserate.

Another example of me being a unificator.

He said that the neighbors got to know each other and helped each other out getting rid of some branches that had fallen but no damage to his home.

[Arkansas Winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkansas Winger]

My daughter and her family lived about 3 blocks off of Galveston Bay and had about 4 foot of water in their home. Fortunately they left before the storm hit. Also, My sister and her husband had gone on a cruise out of Galveston. Their car was on the Island and the Cruise Ship disembarked them in NOLA. I don't know if they will ever find the car....

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

Wow, I'm glad your daughter and family are alright, but it's a shame about the house.
I can't imagine taking a cruise during a hurricane...I hope they find their car.

I wish everyone well.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Where have you guys been??? :-)

Hi everyone.

We got our electricity back on Sunday 9/21 evening. Our cable/internet didn't come back until today.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers. I live in the more central area of Houston where there are lots of beautiful live oaks and electric lines are strung from telephone poles.

The total customers that lost power in the Houston area was 2.1 million which meets homes, not population. Total population without power was 4.0 million. As of this morning, there are a little less than 40% of the customers who still don't have power, or about 800,000 people. In fact our subdivision is 1 block wide with about 200 homes. Except for one, all of the neighborhoods around us still have no power. It will be later this week or next before power can be restored. There are so many tree limbs and wires that still have to be removed and repaired.

The night of the Ike, our power went out at 10 pm. Saturday night after Ike was the hottest and most humid. It was very uncomfortable. However, on Sunday, a cool front came in along with a severe rain storm that did more flooding in Houston itself than Ike did. Once the cool weather came, it allowed all of us to start cleaning up and making due. We really didn't start to venture out by car until almost 5 or 6 days after Ike because we didn't want to waste our fuel. Also, there was really nothing to drive to.

By last weekend, it did get more humid and a warmer, but it was still tolerable at night. Tonight, the night temperatures are turning cooler, down to 65 degrees. So, people will be able sleep more comfortably.

Most of the businesses in my home area are still without power. Getting gasoline does not seem to be a problem. Restaurants in my area have connected to generators and people enjoy going out for a break. Grocery stores are doing the same thing.

In western Houston, most of the power has been restored and home and business life is close to normal. The eastern half of Houston is where the eye of Ike traveled. The most destruction is there. Downtown Houston has enormous issues with all of the high rises losing windows. Glass littered the streets where you couldn't even drive down there. There's still a lot to do there. Power, food, ice, and MRE's are still needed.

For the most part, Houston survived Ike quite well.

The areas on the Gulf coast have severe problems. Galveston probably won't be a place to visit for a year or two. It has no water, electricity or sewers.

It's nice to be back and connected to my friends.