I've spent a lot of time looking at roof damage lately... fortunately not my personal roof, but the compay that I work for has had lots of roof "issues". Here, the men are having a meeting 40 feet in the air... discussing the holes in various roofs. I didn't climb the ladder, begging off because of bad knees. Yes, it probably was a wimpy thing to do, but the older I get the less I find I have to prove to anyone.
Showing posts with label hurricane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hurricane. Show all posts
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
looking east on our street
This is what our street looked like on Saturday 9/13. There was some flooding but the tree damage isn't too severe. You will note that there is a light on in the house to our left. That house has power. The house just to my left (invisible behind it's dangling pine branch) has power in PART of the house. Apparently one leg of the power is on and one is off. At least, that is what an electrician told my neighbor. Odd. This may also be true in our house since my husband told me that he noticed the internet cable modem lights were on when we were closing up the house to leave.
We decided that since there was no power and no water pressure, staying in Houston would be silly when we have a perfectly good house in South Padre to go to. So around 2pm we packed up and left. I've got a few pictures of the drive down but it was not dramatic at all. We found gas outside of Victoria and paid $3.59 - not a bad price. The trip took 5.5 hours which is faster than normal. There was hardly any traffic.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
At least South Padre has power and water!
We had a busy day today! Of course overnight Hurricane Ike roared through our neighborhood. The wind was impressive, and I am so glad that we got those big limbs trimmed off our tree! Although there was steady rain, we never really got a deluge.
Early in the morning (around 7 or so) the water was backing up in the street. I went out with camera, cell phone, and raincoat, and walked around. Cleared out the leaves and branches from one of street drains that was clogged. The little bayou was running fast, but the good news was that it was running downstream as it should. Which told me that our big bayou wasn't yet impacted by the big storm surge that pushed up into Galveston Bay, the San Jacinto River, and anywhere else that it could. By around 10 our street was clear of flood waters and they never got more than a couple inches up into our yard. I've definitely seen much worse from a violent thunderstorm.
Tree branches were down all over the place, but no trees fell. Our street was easy to drive on. I picked up lots of limbs and piled them in the front yard. Hopefully the heavy trash folks will come by soon and pick them up.
By noon, after listening to the radio and the neighbors, it became obvious that power was going to be out for a LONG time, perhaps weeks. And the water pressure was down to a mere trickle. So we decided to pack up and head down to South Padre Island. We are so fortunate to have another place to get, all set up and ready. A little ironic that it was only a few weeks ago that Hurricane Dolly was making her mark there.
We left around 2 and arrived by 7:45pm which was GREAT time. The road was completely clear and dry. Closer to Houston the gas stations were all closed but once we got to Victoria there were many open and serving. We bought gas at the Victoria McDonald's truckstop for $3.59 which isn't a bad price! (They usually offer a fair gas price.) Almost the entire way down US59 and then US77 we saw houses and businesses boarded up. A reminder of how the forecasted track of Ike moved from south of Corpus Christi all the way up to Galveston.
We arrived on the island just in time for the sunset and hurried down to the beach. There obviously was a huge surge, much larger than the one that Gustav sent a couple weeks ago. No trash cans on the beach so the city must have taken them away. The water was oh, so warm. The pink sunset and rising moon made for a good ending to a long day.
Except of course my day was not done. All of my company's locations in Houston had damage from the storm, so I have spent the evening writing up incident reports, talking to adjusters, and getting things lined up for Monday morning inspections. Tomorrow I'll be working again most likely. Maybe, depending on the response, I may have to drive to Corpus to see any damage reported at our three locations there.
We are relieved to have power and water, and a safe place to sleep tonight.
Early in the morning (around 7 or so) the water was backing up in the street. I went out with camera, cell phone, and raincoat, and walked around. Cleared out the leaves and branches from one of street drains that was clogged. The little bayou was running fast, but the good news was that it was running downstream as it should. Which told me that our big bayou wasn't yet impacted by the big storm surge that pushed up into Galveston Bay, the San Jacinto River, and anywhere else that it could. By around 10 our street was clear of flood waters and they never got more than a couple inches up into our yard. I've definitely seen much worse from a violent thunderstorm.
Tree branches were down all over the place, but no trees fell. Our street was easy to drive on. I picked up lots of limbs and piled them in the front yard. Hopefully the heavy trash folks will come by soon and pick them up.
By noon, after listening to the radio and the neighbors, it became obvious that power was going to be out for a LONG time, perhaps weeks. And the water pressure was down to a mere trickle. So we decided to pack up and head down to South Padre Island. We are so fortunate to have another place to get, all set up and ready. A little ironic that it was only a few weeks ago that Hurricane Dolly was making her mark there.
We left around 2 and arrived by 7:45pm which was GREAT time. The road was completely clear and dry. Closer to Houston the gas stations were all closed but once we got to Victoria there were many open and serving. We bought gas at the Victoria McDonald's truckstop for $3.59 which isn't a bad price! (They usually offer a fair gas price.) Almost the entire way down US59 and then US77 we saw houses and businesses boarded up. A reminder of how the forecasted track of Ike moved from south of Corpus Christi all the way up to Galveston.
We arrived on the island just in time for the sunset and hurried down to the beach. There obviously was a huge surge, much larger than the one that Gustav sent a couple weeks ago. No trash cans on the beach so the city must have taken them away. The water was oh, so warm. The pink sunset and rising moon made for a good ending to a long day.
Except of course my day was not done. All of my company's locations in Houston had damage from the storm, so I have spent the evening writing up incident reports, talking to adjusters, and getting things lined up for Monday morning inspections. Tomorrow I'll be working again most likely. Maybe, depending on the response, I may have to drive to Corpus to see any damage reported at our three locations there.
We are relieved to have power and water, and a safe place to sleep tonight.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Update at 11:12pm
The TV went out a few minutes ago... no great loss since we still have the internet (odd, that) and our handy little solar/crank/rechargeable radio/cellphone charger/flashlight. All it needs is a couple blades and it could be a really handy tool a la Swiss Army knife.
My husband has gone outside to watch the wind. It is the most visible wind I've ever seen. It keeps tricking me too, since it sounds like a vehicle coming up the road. I guess that is the leaves rustling. Still not too much rain. I see from the radar that it is coming. The eye is very close to Galveston too.
Thinking of all of you and hoping you are well. The drama of the storm is keeping us entertained and we are fine.
My husband has gone outside to watch the wind. It is the most visible wind I've ever seen. It keeps tricking me too, since it sounds like a vehicle coming up the road. I guess that is the leaves rustling. Still not too much rain. I see from the radar that it is coming. The eye is very close to Galveston too.
Thinking of all of you and hoping you are well. The drama of the storm is keeping us entertained and we are fine.
cloud bands
The clouds bands of Ike, spinning overhead and lit by the setting sun.
The sunset was awesome - filling me with awe. We went for a quick drive down Westheimer, to see the town. My husband was hoping the movie theatre was open, but (as I hoped) it was not. So we made do with the powerful colors of the sunset and the dramatically moaning wind.
The town is pretty quiet, with some traffic but almost nothing open. A very few gas stations were open as we went out but were closed by the time we came back, less than 20 minutes later. In a 5 mile drive we saw at least 5 police cruisers - far more than usual. I guess it's a good idea, since all those stores would be a temptation to some people.
The wind is getting stronger but we have had almost no rain yet.
gathering nuts
This little squirrel is gathering nuts in the early morning sunshine before Hurricane Ike gets to Houston. I wonder where he will spend the storm hours?
We are expecting the storm to be in full force by about midnight tonight, and it should be already moved on by noon or so. Amazing how fast it is projected to get out of here.
As you can see, right now it is very calm. As a matter of fact, I'm getting ready to go outside and trim the Rangoon Vine, which has really gone crazy and is reaching out all over the place.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
We are nowhere near the coast
Our house is almost 80 miles from the coast so please don't worry about the "certain death" applying to us. We will certainly will have some heavy rain and wind but we are not in an evacuation zone. The most we should have to worry about is the trees falling on the house... and believe me, the most vulnerable tree is being taken down this fall.
The forecasted track looks to have shifted at bit more to the east... which is better for us but not so good for Galveston or further east on the coast.
The forecasted track looks to have shifted at bit more to the east... which is better for us but not so good for Galveston or further east on the coast.
thursday night moon
A bit comforting to know that we are not the only ones staying here. As a matter of fact, I talked to our next door neighbor just a couple minutes ago, and he said that he didn't think anyone in our street was leaving. I don't feel quite so foolhardy... on the other hand maybe we are all crazy.
Good hurricane site...
I like this new site: Storm Pulse. It has better graphics and interesting overlays. Check it out!
Here at work I am getting my office ready for the storm - pictures off the wall, clearing the desk top, and so on. If a window should break, there are things that I don't want to get wet or go flying around the room.
My husband has decided to stay with me instead of going down to the island - for which I am grateful. It is better to be together in things like this.
I'll post more as time goes on!
Here at work I am getting my office ready for the storm - pictures off the wall, clearing the desk top, and so on. If a window should break, there are things that I don't want to get wet or go flying around the room.
My husband has decided to stay with me instead of going down to the island - for which I am grateful. It is better to be together in things like this.
I'll post more as time goes on!
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