192 replies to this topic

[mantarraya]

I know several people (including my Galveston house and the Houston Emergency Center) had issues with water blowing through air vents into their houses, soaking things that way.

[Mermaid Lady]

My A/C is back on line now which was the last thing needing to get fixed. Went to the store and got produce for the fridge. Sure is great to eat real food again.

My prayers are with those still struggling (and there are many in this area) that their lives will be restored to normal as soon as possible

Edited by Mermaid Lady, 19 September 2008 - 01:55 PM.

[WreckWench]

My A/C is back on line now which was the last thing needing to get fixed. Went to the store and got produce for the fridge. Sure is great to eat real food again.

My prayers are with those still struggling (and there are many in this area) that their lives will be restored to normal as soon as possible

Glad things are back to normal for you. our other members fare as well soon!

[Mermaid Lady]

I know several people (including my Galveston house and the Houston Emergency Center) had issues with water blowing through air vents into their houses, soaking things that way.

Hi Lee,
So glad you're OK and that your house is still standing. You're definitely in my prayers that everything will be restored to normal as quickly as possible.

The scary part is that so many of the dead may never be found as they were simply washed out to sea. Our thoughts and prayers for them and their next of kin.

Edited by Mermaid Lady, 19 September 2008 - 02:19 PM.

[Scubatooth]

The scary part is that so many of the dead may never be found as they were simply washed out to sea. Our thoughts and prayers for them and their next of kin.

This is very true, my contact on the maryland SAR team, said that when they where coming into galvestion via the water they saw evidence of just that, and also found several boats that looked like they tried to out run the storm but didnt as they found several yachts lost at sea with little or no signs of there captains or owners.

[shawnabbott]

my dad told me a chilling story, whereby he almost went down to Caplen to secure his old cabin on thurs. and planned to return friday, but then decided not to. he said other friends did just that, some to get things and leave, others to stay, and unfortunately the storm surge came in thurs. nite and they couldn't leave fri. ...some are missing as those homes were washed away...

[uwfan]

my dad told me a chilling story, whereby he almost went down to Caplen to secure his old cabin on thurs. and planned to return friday, but then decided not to. he said other friends did just that, some to get things and leave, others to stay, and unfortunately the storm surge came in thurs. nite and they couldn't leave fri. ...some are missing as those homes were washed away...

How awful, so glad he didn't go. A blessing in the midst of so much tragedy.

[Cajun Diver]

Here's a link from the Boston Globe that has pictures from the entire path of Ike:

http://www.boston.co...ul_life_of.html

There's one picture I would like to see - the 2 barges blocking a part of the east bound lanes and all of the west bound lanes of Highway 73 near Port Arthur. I didn't have my camera with me yesterday when I was in that area helping to clean out a flooded house of a co-worker so don't have one myself.

The mess will take years to clean up - tanks, storage containers (like those you see on trucks and ships), dead cows/fish/other unidentified things, boats and the leaked oil. The storm surge caused much more damage than the wind/tornadoes from what I've seen - those 2 barges took out about 1/2 mile of a electric feeder line and that's going to take months to get going since it's in a marsh area.

Things are looking quite a bit better though - about 60% of Beaumont now has power and the water doesn't have to be boiled because of the salt water contamination. Slowly but surely things are getting back to normal .

[weescot]

My goodness - seeing the hurricane in the news from afar is one thing. Reading all your personal survial stories is another. I am so glad you are all OK. SD really is a great community. Thinking of you as you all get your lives back together.

[Divegirl412]

I saw the pics from the Boston Globe yesterday, and it is still hard to take in. I am just glad you all made it safely. You are in my thoughts and prayers as the recovery continues.

[Scubatooth]

Theresa and Victoria

Thanks for the offers to go look for my friend, she finally got ahold of me the next day which calmed me down as she was the last person I hadnt heard from. Sorry if i sounded a little panicked but Im very protective of this person as she has been a great friend to me over the past couple of years. She rode out the storm at her offices EOC so she was good and taken care of.

Tooth

[Cajun Diver]

I've heard several amazing stories from people surviving the storm on the Bolivar Peninsula - one lady had stayed at her ground level house and someone I work with was on the phone with her. She had 4 feet of water in her house and told him she really made a mistake on this one. He told her to get her life jacket on, swim to the cabin across the street and break in and ride it out there. The line went dead so he didn't know if she heard him. When a group made it to her house yesterday it was gone but the cabin across the street was there. They found muddy footprints, broken glass in the door and cans that had been opened so it appears she made it.

Sad news - apparently the footprints were not hers. They found her body in south Chambers county yesterday and positively identified her today.

They are letting property owners back into the Bolivar peninsula and my dad, a friend and I are going tomorrow morning to see if there is anything salvageable where our cabin used to be. Judging by the pictures and video it's unlikely...

According to the Spree/Fling websites both boats made it through the storm ok and are in Galveston helping with cleanup by housing emergency workers. The rest of the trips this diving season have been canceled.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

It's very sad that not everyone made it through Ike. My thoughts and prayers out to anyone who has lost a friend or loved one. And, I am so grateful that many of our SD friends have checked in, and came through the storm better than many others did.

This storm did a lot more damage that I would have expected out of a Cat 2 storm, probably due to low land and high storm surge. I found this link showing many, many photos, both before and after. The devastation is truly horrific, and must be even more so for those who live there. However, the spirit and teamwork of the residents is truly inspiring! Community is not just a word.

Link here