Hurricane Ike Options

[Hartmann]

Really surprised that no one has brought this up. They are telling us to expect up to two weeks without power... This is going to be a fun one to ride out.

impala, were you in the evacuation zone?

[woody]

evacuating is something that logical people do

wouldn't matter if he's in the zone or not.

[jwttu]

evacuating is something that logical people do

wouldn't matter if he's in the zone or not.

agreed, i lived anywhere along the hurricane path I'd be getting the hell out. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Spectatrix]

We've been talking about Ike in the STOMES thread.

Here in Austin, I just expect some rain. Possible power outages, but I kinda doubt it. They're telling us to shut down our computers before we leave work tomorrow.

[Seeker]

we're gonna have to have a techsans evacuation plan

who is willing to let impala stay with them? lol

[Seeker]

personally i wouldn't evacuate, i think it'd be too much fun picking off looters in the neighborhood

[impala454]

I've lived down here most of my life and in this case we'll be fine. Deer Park is on not in the evac zone right now, but even so, it's not going to hit as more than a strong 3 or maybe weak 4. The storm surge has to hit ~25 ft before we're in any danger, and right now they're predicting about 13-15 ft max. We got plenty of supplies, a generator, gonna board up the windows, etc. We'll be aight. I'll report in every now and then.

[Spectatrix]

we're gonna have to have a techsans evacuation plan

who is willing to let impala stay with them? lol

I'd let him chill at my place if needed, actually.

[Seeker]

i would let anyone stay with me if they needed it

by the time he leaves, he'll be brainwashed

[theIncredibleEdi...]

I am sticking around.....but I will be abandoning the duplex in Montrose and going out to Katy to stay with family.

Work let us out at noon today....my ass is going to see "Burn Before Reading" tonight, and then I am going to the gay bars....may as well enjoy myself!

[impala454]

I really appreciate it guys but we should be good to go. It's crazy seeing the pandemonium going on around the city though. Airports are going nuts, wal marts have cops at the doors making you to wait in line to get in, Home Depots are packed at the lumber pickup, gas stations starting to run out of gas, cell phone service is shotty because so many people are using it at once, etc etc. I'm really glad I ran by the lumber yard yesterday when there was nobody there and the grocery store last night when it wasn't that bad.

Dude, Duane I'd bet you'd be safer in Montrose than Katy. Katy is about where the eye is headed...

[cmac]

take pics/video please

[jwttu]

according to this map max storm surge could hit 27-30ft. Be careful.

[theIncredibleEdi...]

I really appreciate it guys but we should be good to go. It's crazy seeing the pandemonium going on around the city though. Airports are going nuts, wal marts have cops at the doors making you to wait in line to get in, Home Depots are packed at the lumber pickup, gas stations starting to run out of gas, cell phone service is shotty because so many people are using it at once, etc etc. I'm really glad I ran by the lumber yard yesterday when there was nobody there and the grocery store last night when it wasn't that bad.

Dude, Duane I'd bet you'd be safer in Montrose than Katy. Katy is about where the eye is headed...

Yeah...I hear ya. I am contemplating having my family come here instead of going there.

[impala454]

I'll try and take a few pics/vids.

[Seeker]

impala and duane are gonna meet up and hold each other tight during the hurricane

[Billy]

I'm riding it out.

[moebary]

that's what she said

[theIncredibleEdi...]

I decided to get an early start......sealed up my apartment and left at midnight. Traffic was pretty heavy for this late. I figured I would rather come now than fight straggler traffic.

I will keep updating as long as I've got power and internet.

[pysex]

although it's smart to respond to the threats of hurricanes...category 2 or less isn't going to do extreme damage...and they say ike won't get above 2

just expect flooding/power outages/moderate wind damage but that's nothing new to houston....maybe to austinites though! YIKES!

[impala454]

well down here, nobody really worries that much about the high winds. we board up the facing windows for flying debris, but the flooding is what does the actual damage. those communities close to the coast on 45 have mostly evacuated. large parts of galveston will probably be under water this time tomorrow.

i'll keep updating too, doubt we'll lose power until like 2-3am

[impala454]

I'll take pics and videos every couple hours and post them up here:
http://www.chuckc.net/ike/

[BlueBarry]

i think you need a live stream so we can all watch!

[jonathan83]

I'll take pics and videos every couple hours and post them up here:
http://www.chuckc.net/ike/

cool idea, but why don't you take the pics facing south or southeast where the hurricane is coming from?

[impala454]

because later on it's gonna be 120mph

[impala454]

lolz sittin here watchin the news, an 80 year old pier in galveston is being destroyed in the background, and some d00dz are out there taking video in a bear suit...

[Hartmann]

We are not evacuating but I have enough water and food for at least a week and a half. They came through the Heights and told us to expect to be without power for up to two weeks.

I doubt it will be that bad, my only concern are the old(er) pecan trees that surround us.

I've lived through a few hurricanes and this one just looks like a nuisance, as long as it moves as quickly as they predict. If it slows down like Allison, we could have a problem.

[impala454]

There doesn't seem to be that intense of rain/storms in the bands. Still not much to speak of here yet, just a fair breeze with gusts up to 25 or so, and a little light sprinkling, not enough to make the ground wet yet.

[Epic]

shit, the amount of prep we've had to do in anticipation of the hurricane impact here in san marcos is ridiculous.

i only wonder what lamar and rice, and u of h must be going through

[impala454]

What kinda stuff were they having yall do?

[cmac]

lolz sittin here watchin the news, an 80 year old pier in galveston is being destroyed in the background, and some d00dz are out there taking video in a bear suit...

[impala454]

haha yep there it is. startin to pick up a little here, still not more than 30-35mph though yet. and almost no rain at all.

[theIncredibleEdi...]

Wind is picking up here. This is boring waiting....all the action is going on in Galveston.

Did ya see the two boats that smashed into each other and exploded?

[impala454]

LOL yeah that was cool. Supposedly it'll pick up a bunch here in about another hour. Was just outside and had a few 40+ gusts or so. Still no rain yet though.

[theIncredibleEdi...]

No rain here either...but some bendy trees.

[Seeker]

i think people are making too big a deal out of this hurricane bullshit (especially the people way inland), it's just some rain and wind, geezus

katrina fucked up new orleans but thats because new orleans sucks at life

[impala454]

well galveston is gonna be pretty screwed for sure, as well as a few other areas. just had the power flicker finally.

[Seeker]

i love galveston

[FORSAKENR320]

i think people are making too big a deal out of this hurricane bullshit (especially the people way inland), it's just some rain and wind, geezus

katrina fucked up new orleans but thats because new orleans sucks at life

[Epic]

so i decided to have friends over and make hurricanes.

fuck yeah, take that sensitivity.

[FORSAKENR320]

so i decided to have friends over and make hurricanes.

fuck yeah, take that sensitivity.

[James]

If it's not a picture of you wearing that button, it's a waste of time to look at it.

[FORSAKENR320]

If it's not a picture of you wearing that button, it's a waste of time to look at it.

hmm, maybe i can dig the one i got of my grandmothers outta my storage crap...

[impala454]

We still haven't gotten the worst of it yet, winds are still not bad, barely any rain. They say the worst isn't going to pass through for another hour or two.

[impala454]

and we just lost power. gonna shut this thing down and save the battery.

[Mommy]

This is like that part of Apollo 13 where they had to turn off the computer and communication devices to save power in order to have enough power for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere...


enough of that though


Seriously, Hope you're safe. Update us when you can.

[Billy]

North-west Houston is really calm.

[Spectatrix]

Lame. I want some hard-core thunderstorms here!

[FORSAKENR320]

Lame. I want some hard-core thunder-cock!

fixed

[pysex]

so here in austin...it's hot...and there are people currently having a grill out at the apartment pool

[jonathan83]

This post has been edited by jonathan83: Sep 13 2008, 01:31 AM

[theIncredibleEdi...]

Right now I still have power....for the time being. I know areas all around me have gone dark.

Writing this while I can.

Winds are raging....the rain has come down and stopped and started. It's a constant strong whistling.

My friends have reported via text that their power has been out since around 11pm and they're now hearing trees snapping.

News is reporting the eye is over Galveston about now and the tail end is going to be worse.
This totally sucks.

[chook]

damn Duane, hope you safe.

[Mommy]

Updates from anyone in the Houston area?

[James]

Impossible. Power's out for over 4 million people.

[impala454]

Impossible. Power's out for over 4 million people.

Impossible? We've been without power since like 9pm last night and I've been updating that site I gave yall all night. Power often goes out much longer than telephone/internet service.

[Spectatrix]

What kind of internet are you using, Chuck, that doesn't require power for a cable/DSL modem?

[impala454]

Yeah electricity is required. Electricity from the local power company is not. I just had to respond to James saying it's impossible to get an update, because I was updating all night last night. Lots of people (including us) set up generators this morning once the worst was past. Most of last night I was using my laptop tethered to my cell phone to update my site for those watching it. I also had a battery backup I used to turn on the TV for a few minutes each hour and check the news via antenna (yay for HDTV during a hurricane!).

There's lots of damage all over the city, but we fared pretty well. Still don't have power service restored yet but we have like 30 gallons of gas for the generator so we'll be fine. The biggest worry was the bayou behind us filling up, but it never got higher than about 6 feet from the top. We've had it get higher during a bad thunderstorm.

[theIncredibleEdi...]

all is ok I'm on my cell phone.

No power. I'm waiting for roads to clear so I can go check out my apartment.

[Mommy]

Impossible. Power's out for over 4 million people.

Impala posted he might still be able to post, and I figured some get online with their PDA phones.

[FORSAKENR320]

Yeah electricity is required. Electricity from the local power company is not. I just had to respond to James saying it's impossible to get an update, because I was updating all night last night. Lots of people (including us) set up generators this morning once the worst was past. Most of last night I was using my laptop tethered to my cell phone to update my site for those watching it. I also had a battery backup I used to turn on the TV for a few minutes each hour and check the news via antenna (yay for HDTV during a hurricane!).

There's lots of damage all over the city, but we fared pretty well. Still don't have power service restored yet but we have like 30 gallons of gas for the generator so we'll be fine. The biggest worry was the bayou behind us filling up, but it never got higher than about 6 feet from the top. We've had it get higher during a bad thunderstorm.

this is why i need more computer savvy people in my group for the apocalypse.... damn you chook and joe for leaving.... bastards.. lol

[James]

What kind of internet are you using, Chuck, that doesn't require power for a cable/DSL modem?

This is more of what I was getting at. Figured that would be down, but I guess they're safe since they're below ground for the most part and the power sources have backup?

[theIncredibleEdi...]

Well, I am at my sister's in Katy....power has been restored at her apartment but not at my mom's house.
Power is back on in spotty areas.

I ventured late this evening to my duplex and its fine, but there are huge trees that were snapped in two. Montrose is completely dark when I left.

I've got some pictures that I will send when I can.

[Billy]

Power is back online!

[impala454]

I updated my site again, we still had no power as of about 4PM in deer park. we had about 5 gallons of generator gas left so decided to just pack up and head here to oklahoma to visit my sister. JSC already said they're closed the rest of the week so I'll just consider this a quick little vacation. we got some roof damage, but mostly just shingles. unfortunately several of them hit my truck on the way down though and left a few minor scratches . Also had a fair amount of water come in under the window sills in one spot but not too terrible.

We just got sick of sitting around without AC and all knew our jobs wouldn't be back up until at least friday or later, so said wth and left. there were lines literally a half mile long to get gas, in HUNTSVILLE. i had enough gas to make it to fairfield, and even there i had to wait 10 mins to fill up ($3.85/gal, if anyone is curious). also just driving around some in my area yesterday and earlier this morning (sun morning) this thing really did a lot of damage, I'd venture to say 30% of all wooden fences were destroyed, along with a large number of trees & power poles snapped in half or uprooted. my neighbor across the street had a 3 foot diameter tree nail his SUV. anyways I'm mega tired, got like 5 hrs of sleep since friday night, just drove 8 hrs, and have a nice, cool, comfy bed waiting for me that I'm not going to drench with sweat after 10 mins. I'll check back with you guys tomorrow.

btw billy, where are you and what time did you get power? I drove through almost all of pasadena (west of deer park) yesterday and only saw a few in the most extreme western parts that had it. la porte (east of deer park) is still telling their residents not even to return. we also got as far north as the woodlands on our way out of town and still saw widespread people with no power, and lots of standing water on feeder roads and such. crazy.

[Billy]

I'm at Gessner and Clay which is just inside Sam Houston Toll Way and 290 (a little southeast from there). I had power restored at around 9:00 p.m. Saturday. We had water restored around 6:00 p.m. Sunday.

[impala454]

ahh ok so you're pretty far NW then. post up here if you hear anything about Deer Park/Pasadena/La Porte if you would

[jwttu]

chuck this website might help you

http://www.puc.state.tx.us/webapp/public/apps/emr/ByZip.aspx

[impala454]

oh cool beans thanks man. yeah all of our city is 77536, still says 38% out. been calling and checking with neighbors to see. was still out as of last night. we'll probably head back thursday, i'm sure it'll be back by then.

[jwttu]

I'm not sure if you are in the centerpoint service area (it looks like most of the Houston area is) but they also have a pretty good update on outages here http://centerpointenergy.com/staticfiles/ike/outages.html

[impala454]

oh cool. yeah we finally recruited a neighbor to call us when it comes back.. some people across the street already have it back so hopefully soon.

[Hartmann]

We still do not have power and what we've been told is to not expect it until after the 23rd. Our house and garage were hit by trees and the garage was destroyed. We have a hole in the roof of the house but it's now covered.

Our neighbors have been great but we are a little stir crazy. We are at my wife's parent's house to do laundry. My parents in Sugar Land still do not have power either.

[Mommy]

Wow, Stephan. That's awful.

[impala454]

that sucks man sorry to hear that. we are headed back to Houston tomorrow, as far as we know we still do not have power but most of the rest of our block does, so not sure what the deal is. we've been told a lot of the gas stations are back open and some grocery stores, but we're still bringing back 20 gallons of fuel for the generator just in case. a friend of mine who lives out near crosby said they were told they might not have power until october 4th.

[theIncredibleEdi...]

I feel ya.....I've been staying at my mom's place so I don't fry, but they aren't projecting my area until "After Monday..." whenever that will be. I think it's gonna be a while because I drove around today and there's several trees still laying on power lines.

I also drove by the Fiesta on I-10 and Bunker Hill, and there were like 10 power trucks just sitting there....the worker's standing beside them or in camp chairs. Why the hell are these guys sitting around?

Montrose and most of midtown is all dark still. Most businesses are still closed/without power, and all of the residences definitely are without. You drive around and all you hear is the sound of generators working.

Honestly, I am so over thisshit.....I appreciate my mom's hospitality, but I am ready to be at home and comfortable.

[impala454]

I HAVE ELECTRICITY!!

[chook]

cause they are union.

[impala454]

huh

[theIncredibleEdi...]

OH THANK GOD I HAVE POWER BACK!!!

[Hartmann]

Still no power where we are at.

I called Comcast because our cable line was cut due to damage from the storm (it was knocked from its hanging area and was then hit by a passing truck). The guy did not understand me at all, telling me that no one in my area had cable. I replied, "I don't think you're listening, the cable line was cut!".

[Hartmann]

Received a phone call from CenterPoint Energy saying our power was on... Definitely wasn't.

I have to head to South Africa and have had to cancel, rebook, and cancel this ticket twice. My company finally gave in and rebooked the thing again but who knows if I'll actually make it there.