Ike update: heading home and maybe offline for a while

I have not regained electricity, but my husband thinks we'll get it back today or tomorrow. My town, Deer Park, 3/4 of the town with power now. Anyone wanting some local information can go to the Houston Chronicle website:

http://www.chron.com/

I've seen pictures on AOL and can't believe some of what I'm seeing. Pictures of Seabrook and Kemah are amazing. My mom and brother live south of them and I drive down the road (Hwy 146) all the time to their house. I can say I'm not surprised by it, but am just amazed. I heard that the restaurant my brother works at was flooded and it sits a good 15 feet off the ground. And of course, pictures of Galveston, Port Author, Gilchrist and Beaumont, as well as other areas of Houston don't even give the whole picture. The Southeast portion of Texas will be a long time recovering from this.

Also, I may not have internet. Our phone line has been going in and out and I have my internet through the phone company. So, I'll catch up with you all when I can.

~Anna Kathryn

Heard from my Husband

I finally heard from my husband on Saturday night. The phone line was down, so even though we have a phone that doesn't need electricity, he didn't have a phone for the day.

Our house is fine. Part of our fence is down, limbs down, and our banana trees didn't do too well, so he cut them down yesterday. And we lost a few shingles from the roof. All in all, we've done well. I've been looking at the pictures on the net and recognize a lot of the areas they are showing, places I drive and near my mom's house (who I also heard has survived with minimal damage).

I'll stay here -- outside Baton Rouge -- until we at least get electricity back, and maybe a few days after that, to give the gas stations and stores time to restock.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts and continue them for those who didn't fare as well as I did.

~Anna Kathryn

Hurricanes

Well, I suppose I should do a history lesson on Hurricanes, since one is affecting me. I'll probably add other posts as I do research, but this will get you started. Here's some facts and figures about the 1900 Hurricane of Galveston, TX that I found on this website (clicking on the link will take you to a page with links to pictures of the aftermath).

http://www.1900storm.com/photographs/index.lasso



Remembering the 1900 Storm ...

On September 8, 1900, a hurricane struck Galveston. Winds estimated at 140 mph swept over the island, leaving devastation in their wake. After the storm surge of 15.7 feet subsided, Galvestonians left their shelters to find 6,000 of the city's 37,000 residents dead and more than 3,600 buildings totally destroyed.

The 1900 Storm is still considered to be the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. After the storm, Galveston constructed a seawall and raised the grade of the island to protect it from future hurricanes.

Facts about the 1900 Storm:

• 8.7 feet: The highest elevation on Galveston Island in 1900.

• 15.7 feet: The height of the storm surge.

• 28.55 inches: Barometric pressure recorded in Galveston, 30 miles from where the eye of the storm is best estimated. At the time, this was the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded.

• 6,000 to 8,000: Number of people estimated to have died during the storm.

• 37,000 people: Population of Galveston in 1900.

• 3,600: Number of buildings destroyed by the storm.

• 130 to 140 miles per hour: Speed meteorologists estimate the winds reached during the storm.

• $20 million: Estimated damage costs related to the storm. In today's dollars, that would be more than $700 million.

http://www.1900storm.com/facts.lasso


Oh, here's a good site with information on a lot of the hurricanes and storms that struck the U.S. for the past 100 years:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/history.shtml

~Anna Kathryn (who's in Baton Rouge, after evacuating Houston ahead of Ike)