Hurricane Ike

[houstonmacbro]

Hey all, just wanted to give you an update on the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. I am doing just fine ... here's why.

1. No power (or Internet or Cable ... dammit!!) still ... and no idea when we might get any of it back. We do have water, and gas to the house so hot showers are in play. Oh yeah, no ice, so everything that WAS in the refrigerator is lost. I am gonna try to get to the FEMA pod to get some ice and maybe some MREs, but no thrilled about eating Army rations.

2. The weather turned cooler yesterday so we can sleep good at night without being drenched in sweat. Yay! One of the few blessings in all of this.

3. Supposed to go back to work on Wednesday, but not sure about that. With 80% of the city STILL without power, I am just not seeing businesses opening up for a long time. Some of the schools have backup generators, but not sure how you can run entire institutions on generators and backup power.

Note: This storm was mostly a wind and storm surge event. Galveston and other low-lying areas were flooding before a drop of rain was felt. That was odd ... and scary. Luckily, there was very little loss of life for a city this big and with an impact that Ike delivered. We were very lucky.

Note II: I am at McDonald's right now, but I am actually connected using Boingo instead of their ATT service. I bought it (Boingo) last month when I went to San Jose. $9.95 and it works just about anywhere there is pay wifi service.

[RedScare]

Life's little pleasures....

Woke up to a cool breeze. If not for the generators up and down the street this would be wonderful.

Neighbor has a french press. Made hot coffee for first time since friday. Also made a 4 egg sausage and cheese omelet. Life seemed almost back to normal.

Good news. Now that the house is dry all it takes to get all those leaves and mud caked on the side of your house off is a quick sweep with a broom.

Don't rake your yard. Once the ground is dry simply mow it with a mulching mower. Much easier and puts a little less junk in the landfill.

IMPORTANT REQUEST:

Anyone with info about Montgomery County please emeail me at dpward (at) swbell (dot) net. I hear they got hammered pretty hard up there.

Hang in there everyone. You are now hurricane veterans! Wear it with pride!

Red

[houstonmacbro]

Don't rake your yard. Once the ground is dry simply mow it with a mulching mower. Much easier and puts a little less junk in the landfill.

Yeah, I use a push reel mower and just cut over all the little leaves that were in the yard. I am too lazy to rake!

Also, oddly, all the leaves that were on my house just feel off by themselves. I kid you not.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Red, Everything is without power up here in Montgomery County, County All offices are closed until further notice, they are saying a minimum of a week on power, possibly longer. Lake Conroe got tossed pretty good. East County is flooded around the San Jac River Area.

No Cell services, or not very good at best, I have Sat uplink for internet, living in the motorcoach at the present.

[Highrise Tower]

hey everybody.

Any news on power to Meyerpark and Westbury area?

Friends on 59 North & Wesylan has power, just wondering if W. Bellfort & S. Post Oak area has power.

Thank you!

[editor]

Not life-saving information, but interesting nonetheless:

• Looks like most of the Transtar sensor network is down except for a couple of patches on I-10 and the West Loop.
  
• When I checked earlier today the sensor network behind HAIF:Traffic was mostly OK outside the Beltway to the northeast, but the southwest side was dark.
  
• Transtar cameras are all down, too.
  

[Mark F. Barnes]

Just an update Magnolia now has power

[editor]

WCID Fondren Road Issues "Boil Water" Notice

Effective immediately, the Fondren Road Water Control and Improvement District has issued a Boil Water notice because the quality of the drinking water may be unsafe as a result of the power outage caused by Hurricane Ike.

The District advises residents NOT to drink the water until tests determine it is safe. The District recommends using one of the following methods to treat water for drinking, cooking or washing dishes.

1. Boil water before use: Hold it at a rolling boil for at least two minutes before using it for drinking, cooking or washing food (the minutes start when the water begins to bubble). The flat taste of boiled water may be removed by shaking the water bottle or by pouring it from one container to another.

2. Use bottled water, especially for mixing baby formula.

3. Disinfect water by adding 8 drops (about 1/8 teaspoon - this would form a puddle about the size of a dime) of plain unscented household bleach per gallon of water, and hen let it stand for 30 minutes before using. If the water is cloudy after 30 minutes, repeat the procedure. Use a container with a cap or cover for disinfecting or storing water to be used for drinking. This will prevent contamination.

4. Treat water with chlorine tablets or iodine tablets. Read and follow the label instructions.

Water samples will be collected and monitored to determine when it is safe again. When the public health threat has been removed you will be notified.

RESIDENTS SHOULD CONTINUE DISINFECTING WATER UNTIL NOTIFIED THAT THE WATER IS SAFE.

[marmer]

Pearland and Med Center here:

Power came back home in my neighborhood yesterday afternoon. Water OK, AT&T phone/DSL is out. Word is that the DSL converter stations don't have power and that breaks your phone line. Some non-DSL phone lines are OK. Lots of fences down and houses with wood siding ripped away. Pearland Westside Cinema 6 lost its facade -- looks bad. :-( Stores and gas stations on 518 are opening up but have long lines. Not much gas around. I am astounded and very grateful that my house did not sustain any visible damage. Guess it's built better than it looks. Oh, and we watched TV (antenna) for hours trying to find out about Pearland schools and saw nothing. My wife and daughter got up at the crack of dawn, got dressed in school clothes, and went to Pearland High School this morning. I had spent a lot of time yesterday in the office trying to find out something about Pearland Schools, as there was no info on school-closings.net or the Pearland ISD web site. Would have been nice if they had got that word out before late last night. Anyway, school is closed today, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

At Rice, lots of tree branches down. Rice has power, a few traffic signals in the area have power, most don't. Idiot drivers are blasting through dead traffic signals without slowing down. How can you be so stupid? Most people in the area don't have power.

Edited September 15, 2008 by marmer

[editor]

Announced POD Locations

The following locations are Points of Distribution (POD's) supplying ice, water and meals (MRE's) for residents.

The POD sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:

. Old Kroger Location, FM 2920@HWY 249, Tomball

. Greenspoint Harvest Time Baptist Church, 17770 Imperial Valley

. Community of Faith, 1023 Pinemont

. Fountain of Praise, 13950 Hillcroft

. Texas Southern University, 3600 Rosewood at Scott

. Ripley House, 4410 Navigation

. Zion Lutheran, 3606 Beauchamp

. Jim Fonteno Courthouse Annex 14350 Wallisville, Channelview

. PAL Gym, 2910 E. Southmore, Pasadena

. Baker Junior High, 9700 Spencer Highway, La Porte

. San Jacinto Community Center, 604 Highland Woods, Highlands

. West Town Mall, 4100 Decker, Baytown

. Baytown Courthouse Annex, 701 West Baker, Baytown

. Windsor Village, 6000 Heatherbrook,

. Greater Jerusalem, 8901 Jensen

. Raul C. Martinez Annex, 1001 S. Sgt. Macario Garcia

. Football Stadium, Center@San Augustine, Deer Park

. Second Baptist, 6400 Woodway

. Bay Area Community Center, 5002 NASA Road One, Seabrook

[westguy]

Grocery store shelves are less than empty. If you're going, it should be for the AC.

Water started to come back to me around 1:00 yesterday. By the late afternoon I had enough to operate the tankless water heater, and in the evening full pressure was back.

Edited September 15, 2008 by westguy

[TheNiche]

Grocery store shelves are less than empty. If you're going, it should be for the AC.

Water started to come back to me around 1:00 yesterday. By the late afternoon I had enough to operate the tankless water heater, and in the evening full pressure was back.

How does that work!? Does a NASA guy around here want to explain the extradimensional ramifications of this phenomenon?

[sheeats]

I'm back!

Even though I reek of gasoline and motor oil from operating chainsaws and generators, have splinters and blisters coating my hands, a giant cut in my foot from a piece of metal flashing, have no power or water at home, and am exhausted in general.....I'M BACK AT WORK.

Our company seems completely and totally oblivious to the fact that we had a hurricane over the weekend (yeah, I was working on Friday, too) and required everyone to be back in the office this morning, business as usual. Suits and ties (for the men) expected, of course.

Must be nice to have such a complete and utter lack of respect for your employees' best interests or wellbeing. God, I love corporate America.

Glad to see that everyone else weathered the storm as well as can be expected. I missed y'all the past few days!

P.S. The Chron has a good list of restaurants that are open today if y'all want a good, hot meal! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/6000371.html

Edited September 15, 2008 by sheeats

[editor]

Updated.

Announced POD Locations

The following locations are Points of Distribution (POD's) supplying ice, water and meals (MRE's) for residents.

The POD sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE POD SITE FORMERLY LOCATED AT BAKER JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, 9700 SPENCER HWY, LA PORTE IS NOW LOCATED AT SAN JACINTO COMMUNITY CENTER. HIGHLIGHTED BELOW.

. Old Kroger Location, FM 2920@HWY 249, Tomball

. Greenspoint Harvest Time Baptist Church, 17770 Imperial Valley

. Community of Faith, 1023 Pinemont

. Fountain of Praise, 13950 Hillcroft

. Texas Southern University, 3600 Rosewood at Scott

. Ripley House, 4410 Navigation

. Zion Lutheran, 3606 Beauchamp

. Jim Fonteno Courthouse Annex 14350 Wallisville, Channelview

. PAL Gym, 2910 E. Southmore, Pasadena

. New Life Fellowship Church, 2104 Underwood, La Porte

. San Jacinto Community Center, 604 Highland Woods, Highlands

. West Town Mall, 4100 Decker, Baytown

. Baytown Courthouse Annex, 701 West Baker, Baytown

. Windsor Village, 6000 Heatherbrook,

. Greater Jerusalem, 8901 Jensen

. Raul C. Martinez Annex, 1001 S. Sgt. Macario Garcia

. Football Stadium, Center@San Augustine, Deer Park

. Second Baptist, 6400 Woodway

. Bay Area Community Center, 5002 NASA Road One, Seabrook

[TheNiche]

Our company seems completely and totally oblivious to the fact that we had a hurricane over the weekend (yeah, I was working on Friday, too) and required everyone to be back in the office this morning, business as usual. Suits and ties (for the men) expected, of course.

Must be nice to have such a complete and utter lack of respect for your employees' best interests or wellbeing. God, I love corporate America.

You mean you got the weekend off! You're so lucky.

I've been told to stay in central Texas at least until Wednesday. Been here since Thursday. Haven't really stopped working aside to handle the distribution of information about Ike between relatives and on HAIF.

[frid]

So on the chron.com website it says that my power at hermann museum circle has been restored despite the fact I left 3 hrs ago to stay in austin.

Can anyone confirm for me that power around hermann park and the museum district is restored?

[sheeats]

You mean you got the weekend off! You're so lucky.

I've been told to stay in central Texas at least until Wednesday. Been here since Thursday. Haven't really stopped working aside to handle the distribution of information about Ike between relatives and on HAIF.

Dude, I know. You're right. I shouldn't complain...

[Mr. Chenevert]

I went to work today... primarily by choice. They made it very clear to us that family and personal issues are priority.

Its nice to get away from the 24/7 Ike coverage and all the other drama.

I know its going to take weeks if not months to get back to "normal", but I like to pretend Im back.

I'm back!

Even though I reek of gasoline and motor oil from operating chainsaws and generators, have splinters and blisters coating my hands, a giant cut in my foot from a piece of metal flashing, have no power or water at home, and am exhausted in general.....I'M BACK AT WORK.

Our company seems completely and totally oblivious to the fact that we had a hurricane over the weekend (yeah, I was working on Friday, too) and required everyone to be back in the office this morning, business as usual. Suits and ties (for the men) expected, of course.

Must be nice to have such a complete and utter lack of respect for your employees' best interests or wellbeing. God, I love corporate America.

Glad to see that everyone else weathered the storm as well as can be expected. I missed y'all the past few days!

P.S. The Chron has a good list of restaurants that are open today if y'all want a good, hot meal! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/6000371.html

[brerrabbit]

Generator is running at the house and I got called into work at an alternate location. I work in Retail Fuel for a major oil company so it's obvious why I have to work, but the irony of it all is that I can't find any gas for myself. No power but the fridge, a TV, and a fan is working so it's not to bad espesially with the cooler weather. Lots of damage in Pearland and based on the power lines around my area we may be the group it takes two weeks or more to repair. City was good though they have huge generators at the sewer treatment plants and the water wells keeping that working. Lost some shingles the fence and had wind blown rain in three of the four front facing rooms in the house. We took the brunt if the storm right at the front door.

[editor]

Update on Road Closures and Travel Information

Local officials remind residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.

If you live in an evacuated zip code, do not return to that area. The evacuation order remains in place for public safety and security-water in most of the region is not safe to drink and power has not been restored in many locations.

Most state highways are open and clear. For more information about state highways, call 1-800-452-9292.

On local streets, many traffic signals still are not functioning, while debris and downed power lines remain dangerous. Exercise extreme caution if you must get on the road.

Some of the downtown area has reopened, but some blocks are closed because of remaining fallen glass and debris.

Keep tuned to local radio stations or television for area-specific information.

[Montrose1100]

Does that include areas of Spring that are considered the "Woodlands"

Wondering because it will be easier for my hubby's team of energy folks to work from home if power is back on there--as they can't get into "downtown" right now......

I don't know. I'm talking about the Klein area of Spring.

[editor]

Harris County Employees to Return to Work Tuesday

All Harris County employees who are able should report to work tomorrow, on Tuesday September 16th.

Employees whose offices are not open due to Hurricane Ike may be allowed to work from home if approved by their supervisor.

Employees who are unable to report to work must contact their supervisors to discuss how their time will be reported.

Employees who are able to report to work should contact their supervisor to determine where they are to report, recognizing that not all county buildings will be open.

The Criminal Justice Center at 1201 Franklin will not be open tomorrow.

[editor]

Curfew Area & Times / Toque de Queda

Sugar Land No curfew

City of Stafford 12a.m.

[lockmat]

sheeats, I have a friend who works for Fluor and she too was required to go to work today. We have tomorrow off as well and are supposed to check back in tomorrow night to see which facilities are open/closed.

Yall remember the freshman fifteen? I think there should be a hurricane fifteen too. I think i've gained at least five pounds from bored eating.

[HoustonMidtown]

Power is back on in Midtown (EDGE and RISE condo area)

No water at the EDGE though.....

Edited September 16, 2008 by u080570

[jayshoota]

Finally found a place with internet. (DNR on the corner of Chelsea and Montrose.) Made it through the storm. We lost power about 10:30pm and it came back on about 4 am that morning right before the eye wall hit. That is the only time we were without power. Don' ask me how. No cable and internet yet. Glad everyone seems okay and I will post my pics ASAP!

[RedScare]

sheeats, I have a friend who works for Fluor and she too was required to go to work today. We have tomorrow off as well and are supposed to check back in tomorrow night to see which facilities are open/closed.

Yall remember the freshman fifteen? I think there should be a hurricane fifteen too. I think i've gained at least five pounds from bored eating.

Clearly you are a non homeowner with a generator. I've lost 4 pounds since friday. Between eating sandwiches and cleaning up I've gotten plenty of exercise

I may have gained some lbs eating ribs at the neighbors house tonight though.

[sifuwong]

Finally, Comcast got me up and running today. Looks like i missed out quite a bit.

[lockmat]

Clearly you are a non homeowner with a generator. I've lost 4 pounds since friday. Between eating sandwiches and cleaning up I've gotten plenty of exercise

I may have gained some lbs eating ribs at the neighbors house tonight though.

Not a home owner but carrying cut up pieces of 6 different tall trees to a burn pile have prevented me from gaining more weight. But yes, we have a generator and am backfeeding it into the house so we have pretty much a normal life except without the a/c. I'm thankful.

[sevfiv]

So on the chron.com website it says that my power at hermann museum circle has been restored despite the fact I left 3 hrs ago to stay in austin.

Can anyone confirm for me that power around hermann park and the museum district is restored?

I have a friend near Southmore/288 that has power.

Returned from Austin a few hours ago, and my place in Montrose was still without this evening (but the folks right behind me had power), Bellaire seemed almost all dark, and it was spotty near Reliant stadium.