Welcome to Houston, Humberto

[Phil_in_CS]

talked with mom and dad in orange. They've lost power but the land phones are working. Tree across the driveway that clipped the edge of the house.

After Rita, this is small potatoes.

[94CougarGrad]

Glad your folks are ok. We got any TZers over there, besides presumably EasTexAstro?

[Mr. Happy]

talked with mom and dad in orange. They've lost power but the land phones are working. Tree across the driveway that clipped the edge of the house.

After Rita, this is small potatoes.

You're right. Rita was the most uncovered disaster in US history. We suffered from both Katrina and Rita in a ten day period. It was not any fun.

[mihoba]

Glad your folks are ok. We got any TZers over there, besides presumably EasTexAstro?

ETA has moved to the big city. strosrays was in the path, I think Bench moved away from Beaumont recently, I live about 75 miles (as the crow flies) from High Island. Woke up this morning with a nice cool breeze and misty rain. Most pleasant considering the searing heat and humidity of the last month.

ETA: 45/75 miles, oops

[mihoba]

You're right. Rita was the most uncovered disaster in US history. We suffered from both Katrina and Rita in a ten day period. It was not any fun.

The worst part of Rita for me, besides all the trees we lost, was no power for 3 weeks. No fuel for generators. That was a nightmare. I've learned my lesson: Just because I live 45 miles from the coast, that buffer zone is nothing if a storm of that size comes right over the top of you.

[EasTexAstro]

Glad your folks are ok. We got any TZers over there, besides presumably EasTexAstro?

As mihoba said, I am an Houston right now (staying in Kingwood), but I still have my home in Nacogdoches. I was well out of the line, but it looked serious for a while.

[EasTexAstro]

The worst part of Rita for me, besides all the trees we lost, was no power for 3 weeks. No fuel for generators. That was a nightmare. I've learned my lesson: Just because I live 45 miles from the coast, that buffer zone is nothing if a storm of that size comes right over the top of you.

Wow, mihoba, I didn't remember you getting it that bad. We lost power for a week (which meant the well was down, too, so no water). We were able to get fuel for the generators most of the time, though. Rita was a beast, even in East Texas, but I have to admit the Katrina folks probably deserve to have a little more attention.

[94CougarGrad]

You're right. Rita was the most uncovered disaster in US history. We suffered from both Katrina and Rita in a ten day period. It was not any fun.

We did some work back in '05 for a client who lived outside of Beaumont. They were relieved to have not gotten as much damage as they thought they would have when Katrina came... and then Rita showed up and kicked their asses. Lost everything, including their furniture-making shop, which was on their home property.

[94CougarGrad]

The worst part of Rita for me, besides all the trees we lost, was no power for 3 weeks. No fuel for generators. That was a nightmare. I've learned my lesson: Just because I live 45 miles from the coast, that buffer zone is nothing if a storm of that size comes right over the top of you.

See, and when that storm was coming, I was getting ready to boogie out of Clear Lake. I will not weather a storm even close to that size with my kids in the house. They will be scared enough- the last thing we need is a tree collapsing through the roof.

Before Rita hit, Mr. 94CougarGrad said, "Well, this house weathered Alicia, it can weather another Cat 3," and I politely informed him that if anything bigger than a tropical storm headed my way, HE could weather the storm in the house, but his kids, dog, cats, and wife would be with my folks in Round Rock hoping that he was okay. He finally saw it my way when we went to bed one night at 1:30 am with Rita a Cat 2 and I woke up four hours later and she'd jumped to a Cat 4. I packed up our precious things for two hours, then woke him up at 7:30 to the news. He said, "Okay, you're right." I took the precious things to our office (which at that time was in a cinderblock building, and we had a storage room on the 3rd floor with no windows), turned around and came home, and we were loaded up and on the sloooow road to Round Rock at 1pm.

On Thursday of that week, I had to be in Dallas to present at a seminar in front of about a hundred lawyers. We left Houston at 1 on Wed. and made it to RR at 8:30pm. I left the next morning for Dallas at 9 and got there by noon, then had to present at 2:30, and stayed up there until about 9pm. I was going to stay overnight with relatives, but Mr. 94CG got worried that I might get stuck in Dallas due to all the traffic all over the highways, so he asked me to come back. On the way back to RR, I listened to am radio reports about the storm, and a couple of deejays said they heard that the major gas pipeline that goes from Dallas to fuel the rest of Texas, including Houston, Austin, and San Antone, was going to be shut off in the event that the storm made landfall, which meant that NOBODY could get gas until the tankers came. So the entire way back to RR, I drove paranoidly, stopping about 3 times at gas stations to top off. That sucked.

[mihoba]

Wow, mihoba, I didn't remember you getting it that bad. We lost power for a week (which meant the well was down, too, so no water). We were able to get fuel for the generators most of the time, though. Rita was a beast, even in East Texas, but I have to admit the Katrina folks probably deserve to have a little more attention.

It slammed us hard. I was at work that night and stayed there until it calmed down around noon, then drove home, chainsawing my way (hwy 96, a 4-lane divided, has trees across both sides) until I finally reached my front door. FEMA finally showed up 5 days later with ice and water. We had to rob gasoline out of our bass boats until we could finally fill up our tanks almost 10 days later when power was restored to certain areas, due to our 'black start' efforts at the dam.

East Texas and big wind do NOT play well together.

[Phil_in_CS]

The worst part of Rita for me, besides all the trees we lost, was no power for 3 weeks. No fuel for generators. That was a nightmare. I've learned my lesson: Just because I live 45 miles from the coast, that buffer zone is nothing if a storm of that size comes right over the top of you.

Orange was without power for 11 weeks, without city water for 5. Orange is 25 miles up the Sabine from Sabine Pass...

Worst part for me was my elderly parents moving in for that time (mom's confined to her bed, too, and needs lots of care. Her home health wasn't valid in our area). Don't get me wrong, I love my folks, but having having them in the house 24x7 for weeks was a strain on all of us.

They've told me they won't leave again if another storm comes. The evacuation was a disaster itself, and they are 78 and 85 now, so the trip would be even worse for them if they did it again. Mom says Audrey was in 1957, so they have 50 years between cat 4 storms, and she won't be around for the next one.

[homer]

As mihoba said, I am an Houston right now (staying in Kingwood), but I still have my home in Nacogdoches. I was well out of the line, but it looked serious for a while.

What part of Kingwood?

[JimR]

What part of Kingwood?

the dry part

[EasTexAstro]

What part of Kingwood?

Kingwood Drive and Lake Houston

[EasTexAstro]

the dry part

I couldn't live there if alcohol wasn't present...