Alessa

My prayers with all of the people in the path of Ike.

Lucy

Same here, hopefully you've all prepared as best you can and stay as safe as you can.

Slug

I wish people around here would calm down. It seriously looks like the great depression struck again. Gas is running out, gas is being limited and you can only buy so much(?!?!?!), and there are lines and lines and lines at the gas stations.

Stay safe to those really in the path of this storm.

Chief_waterchanger

Sorry to hear that Matt. (At first I was like, "Fishlore doesn't sell gas.." Then I realized you meant South Carolina..)

Good luck everyone.

COBettaCouple

Hopefully, the storm won't knock out power for too many people and the power will be restored quickly where it does.

mrsmuffin

Unfortunately it looks like those in the path have a lot more to worry about than power... I hope everyone says safe. Let us know when how you are when you get things back up and running again.

mrsmuffin

Watching reports from the storm... Lots of damage, but so far only 2 casualties. It wasn't as bad as they had first predicted although they are saying that most of Houston could be without power for 2-3 weeks.

I hope that our fellow FishLorians are doing as well as they can.

Darlene

I hope most everyone got out that were in the path of it. I know my hubby's unit is sending most of their aircraft and some people down tomorrow morning to help out down there.

clinton1621

Well, Ohio is already feeling the effects, pricewise, of the hurricane... gas went from 3.40 a gallon to 4.00 a gallon. I love how companies are more worried about making more money than they are about peoples homes and lives.

sirdarksol

The folks in Galveston (first landfall of the storm. Should have hit by now) were apparently told "we are evacuating the town. If you stay, you face certain death."
Ike is the largest hurricane in recorded history (not necessarily the nastiest, just the biggest diameter), so it's going to be rough, probably doing a lot of flooding on the low, flat lands, and Texas doesn't even have a vestige of the protection Louisiana once had from the wide stretches of swamp.

Shawnie

be safe everyone!! anyone heard from mousepotato since it landed?

thats what irks me the most about storms...companies jack things up so much after and right before...these poor people have enough to deal with...

thank you hubby darlene!! I tip my hat to all those that take the time to help and who serve in our armed forces daily!

MousePotato

MousePotato is fine, thank you. I am in Dallas with Husband and stepdaughter. Unfortunately, our neighbors to the south have not fared as well. I am dreading the final death toll. Galveston got hit very hard and over 20,000 people did not evacuate. Crystal Beach has been wiped out.

Power is out to about 5 million households, including ours. Initial estimates of property damage are around 18 billion. Ike was one ugly storm!

Darlene, please thank your husband for me. We're gonna need a lot of help!

sirdarksol

Like that company that was selling $40 tarps for hundreds of dollars after Katrina hit.

On the flip side, there are people who are doing good. One company was giving away 1lb blocks of dry ice. These will keep a fridge/freezer cold for around 24 hours (longer if you don't open the door). This may seem like a little thing, but it will save families a huge amount of money in buying new food. They can continue to eat what's in the fridge for another day, at least.

I kind of understand gas prices, because they are a direct response to the public's perception of supply, but people who jack up the price of water/food just because they can make me sick.

mrsmuffin

Mousepotato it is good to hear from you and I am glad that you guys made it up here. I hope that your damage is manageable.

We are even experiencing gas shortages here in the DFW area because of the storm. There was a news story about a gas station here in our suburb that had a 45 minute wait for gas yesterday. I will say that station usually has the lowest price here and historically we have lower gas prices than most in the metroplex.

East Texas and Louisianna are getting pounded right now - we were lucky, the inland storm went east of us and we just got about an inch of rain and a little wind.

Reliant Stadium where the Houston Texans plan is "not structurally sound" and they don't know how long it will be before they will be able to host another NFL game... 3" thick panes of glass were broken out of one of the buildings that used to belong to Enron. The pictures from Galveston show total devistation...

Darlene

I'm glad you got out in time and are safe Mousepotato.

I will pass along the thanks from you guys to my hubby and he will pass it on to the guys that are leaving tomorrow. He can't go actually go since he is clearing post here so we can move, but he will be going into work tomorrow to help get the guys and aircraft out that are going down.

MousePotato

It's all part of chaos theory, clinton. If a butterfly flaps its wings in Texas, gas prices go up in Ohio!

(You know I'm only half joking!)

clinton1621

I realize that they "say" they are raising the prices because it will help with demand, considering the shipments might be delayed. But I'm quite sure they also know that people will be "frenzied" like usual and will be out to fill up their cars... so the real reason they are jacking up prices is because they know that demand is going to be high and they can rake in the money. They just want to play it off as "we are trying to keep demand low by raising the prices, and in turn keep the supply from running out during this unfortunate time".... please dont make me vomit...

MousePotato

Thanks, mrsmuffin. Our personal damage is minimal. We live in a brick home about 80 miles from the coast. There were some powerful winds, but we fared better than many others. At least we did not get a 60 foot pine tree in our living room. My only concern for us is the power issue. I'm worried about my fish.

I've been enjoying the light rain and cooler temps up here in Dallas. My stepdaughter wanted us to take her back to her house in east Texas this afternoon. I said "there is no way I'm deliberately driving into that storm again, so get comfortable for another night!"

Downtown Houston definitely got some damage, but at least there wasn't Allison-style flooding this time. I'm not really a football fan, so I'm more concerned about the Sam Houston Race Park than Reliant Stadium.

Galveston is another story. Those pictures are very haunting. It puts me in mind of the accounts of "the great storm" of 1900. If you've never read them, I recommend this site: http://www.chron.com/content/chronic...m/stories.html.
The parts about St. Mary's Orphanage are particularly heart-wrenching.


Well, his work is definitely appreciated as is that of the guys who are coming our way. After so many near-misses over the years, I can hardly believe we took such a hit from a Cat 2 storm. It is a great shock to see the city I've called home for 16 years in such a state.

MousePotato

Sign me up for one "vomit" as well. If people need gasoline, they will buy it, at any price.

I had to leave my kitties behind because I could not find a station with gas. Husband sent a friend over with his big ol' Bronco, but it only had a quarter tank of gas. The only vehicle that had enough gas in it to get more than 30 miles away was my little convertible! I brought the dogs (NOT the best travel companions in an Eclipse Spyder!) because I knew they couldn't take care of themselves for more than a few hours. I left the kitty feeder and waterer full like I was leaving for a normal out-of-town weekend. Since our house was not damaged and cats LOVE the heat, I think they should be fine, but I felt awful leaving them.