# Hurricane Ike Survivor - Houston Report



## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

We are in Katy, TX if you want to map it. The electricity came back on this afternoon at about 5PM so I'm just posting my initial thoughts this morning since I slept for the first time starting at about 6PM last night. LOL. My wife and I stayed with our two daughters and one son in law at our house during the huricane because we are both in pretty poor shape. She is diabetic, a two time back surgery patient, and a heart patient. I'm recovering from a broken leg caused by a neck problem that resulted in two fused vertebrae and three week old shoulder surgery.

We were very lucky having lost only a portion of our fence and one small leak from a ceiling vent. We drove around our neighborhood after the storm passed Saturday and saw a lot of shingles missing, trees down, and almost all had fence damage.

Today we drove into downtown Houston where I commute to work to look around. The damage in Houston was worse since the trees were much older or much younger and there hasn't been a good wind event there in quite a few years. The worst part of the storm was the loss of power and I'll tell you more about that later. We saw several trees that were already cut up and stacked by the road. When we saw something usable, we stopped and picked out a log. We took one Elm log, one Osage Orange log, one huge Crepe Myrtle log, one Pecan log, and one unkown Oak log. We intend to use the wood to make a small box for the people who donated them as a momento of Ike and the rest for our own projects. We also noted some locations that have possibly good wood to reclaim. Most of the people we saw were outside clearing their yards of small branches and leaves even though they had no air conditioning. I was struck by how many of the lawns were already cleaned and bagged. When we talked to some of the people, they were upbeat and not a bit down and out. We saw about ten trees that had fallen on houses or cars or both. I imagine those people were a little less upbeat.

Now about the power thing. You may think you can imagine a hurricane wind blowing because you've been through thunderstorms that were pretty strong and I bet you're right. It was much like a very long, very strong thunderstorm without the thunder. The wind at our place I would estimate at 70 to 80 mph. Not too bad to open the door and take a look outside at a couple of points when it seemed calm. Of course it wasn't calm though. It started to get windy during the day and about dark it started to seem unusually windy for Katy, TX. At about 9pm it was raining too and from then until about 3 am Saturday, it was a hurricane outside. The lights went out at 11:30pm. It became a little frightening for my wife. The kids all slept through it of course. When the power went out, we were mostly concerned with weather news and we were able to use our cell phones to get radar pictures all night. We could tell the eye passed to the East of us and when the eye passed us. Then, about 5am Saturday morning it started to get hot and the humidity was 99.9% so we got up and decided to drive around the neighborhood and check our church for damage. The cell phone traffic was too heavy to talk to anyone so we texted among our relatives. Power out and no way to know when it would come on is a very depressing thing. The food in the refigerator started to get warm and the freezer started to thaw out. Don't forget to take the ice maker out if this happens to you. We were miserable the whole day Saturday and there was no wind or anything to relieve us. We tried to sleep but couldn't. The two married kids went to the inlaws in the morning because there electricity came back. We stayed to take care of the cats. My wife and I could only sit up and talk all night and watch the youngest kid sleep like nothing had happened. I'm convinced that kids don't care much about what happens as long as they aren't in pain. They can live through most anything and still have fun. We had to stop ourselves several times from telling the kid to stop making noise (she was singing and playing make believe). Anyway, by Sunday morning, we were turning into bobbleheads. The church couldn't have services because there was too much flooding in the neighborhood though the building was fine. We decided to let the kid take a bath and go to the inlaws while we went driving around. We took a bath and left immediately. Can you imagine what it's like to bathe and start sweating while you try to dry off? Yuk. We spent a total of about 30 hours without power. We will spend the next few days helping people clear fallen trees. Especially if they have no power. If you want to see how many people don't have power, go to Center Point Energy on the net and look for the maps. Huge suffering even though most of the city of Houston made it without loss of property. The story of Ike will be the power loss and the suffering of the people. I don't know how people survived before electricity. LOL. Anyway, even though you would get used to the heat and humidity, you still aren't prepared for no power. All my tools, except the chain saw, require electricity for example. Cooking, bathing, washing, drying, dishwashing, housecleaning, yard work, etc. all require electricity now.

When I started this I thought I would describe the power loss so you could understand but the words just aren't there. I'll post a few pictures later of the wood we salvaged. I hope anyone else from Houston/surrounding areas will bounce back as I'm sure we will. My prayers are with you all.

Sorry for the long post. Martin should really put a limit on these things. :2)


----------



## davidtheboxmaker (Dec 25, 2007)

Glad you made it without injury.


----------



## Steelmum (Jul 21, 2007)

Happy that you and yours are fine. Go slow, whatever doesn't get done all at once will still be there to do later. It ain't going nowhere.


----------



## rikkor (Oct 17, 2007)

I am very glad that you survived with no major damage or injury.


----------



## Catspaw (Dec 15, 2007)

I still have an old friend in Houston. I lived there for about 5 years and went thru Alicia and others. Went thru the Northridge earthquake in L.A. Blizzard in Indiana in '78….....and this spring we just had massive flooding in south central Indiana…..maybe I should be deported…I seem to attract these things….anyway….

These things are always pretty surreal to me. Glad you're alright. I've made it a point to have back-ups in place now…kinda…if this happens, can I do it some other way?

But electricity sure does stop things dead in its tracks. The clean-up seems very communal also. People just kinda stop and say…"well, powers out, nothing else to do….guess we'll just start cleaning up." And everybody just digs in. Anyway….goooood luck.


----------



## Rustic (Jul 21, 2008)

Glad to hear that y'all made it through. I live in Houston about 15 years ago. Walk with God and all things are possible.


----------



## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Glad you're okay, Jim. We spent a few weeks in Katy after Katrina, so I know the area pretty well.

Heck, we lost power for 2 1/2 days after Gustav a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, though, we were evacuated and did not come home until the lights were back on. We lived through several days without power after Hurricane Andrew some years back, and it is really hell.


----------



## robbi (Jul 28, 2007)

Glad you are ok. Lived thru Loma Prieta earthquake in 89, lost electricity for a couple days. Very sureal. But your house is so quiet without electricity, you don't realize how much noise it makes until it's not there. We don't have the humidity here that you have, THAT would be miserable!


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Good to hear that you are ok. Had to laugh to hear that you were out picking up wood. Now that is making lemonaide when life gives you a lemon.!!


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Glad to hear you are o\OK. And that you have some rements of the storm to give to people.


----------



## leonmcd (Jul 12, 2007)

I'm in northwest Houston 290 & Eldridge. Knocked down both cedar side fences but no tree or house damage.

My power went out last Friday at 9PM (before the wind even blew) . Still out. Tonight at 9PM will be my 1 week no electricity anniversary. Hope I don' t see another one.


----------



## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

Good to here you folks are OK….


----------



## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

Thanks for the support fellows. I can't imagine how you can live for over a week without power Leon. You're close to me at West Little York and Barker Cypress. But, I've heard of people who live in just one little red spot in the middle of a huge white spot that will probably take several weeks to get power because the population density is just low.

I've been unable to get hold of my pain management doctor since the storm because her electricity went out. I tried to get my eyes tested for new glasses and the doctor hasn't shown up since the storm because his electricity has been out. I watch the national news and I don't hear anything about the storm. Must be because we were prepared, we executed the plan, and hardly anyone died in the storm. I was thinking about moving to a New Orleans hotel if the power didn't come back on. I guess the economy will have to take a dive because of the loss of Houston productivity before anyone takes notice now. This is probably one of the largest disasters in our history and it barely makes the news for four days. Go figure…

I'll check back again for another update in a couple of days. Prayers to all.


----------



## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

I feel your pain.

The last of Ike came through our part of Kentucky last Sunday.


My studio building needs a new roof.
My favorite sycamore tree was uprooted.
A 100+ year old poplar tree is spread over an acre.
A nice cherry tree needs to be felled. - It's going to the mill.
No electricity for five days and a freezer full of venison and game. 
I bought lots of ice and made lots of campfire chili from the venison.
Gosh, I discovered five pounds of forgotten frozen crayfish in the freezer. Made some good jambalaya, I guarantee.
Enjoyed cooking breakfast for the family outside - It's good to have camping gear.
Garden gone…
Where's my fences?
My wife's patio furniture and umbrella are now being tracked by NASA.
Our neighborhood is a choir of chainsaws.
Enjoyed driving 20 miles to the nearest library each day to get my email.
Since I do rustic wood crafting, my new theme song is "It's raining twigs", to the tune of "It's raining men".

Gotta get back to an ever-growing honey-do list.


----------



## TroutGuy (Mar 28, 2008)

Glad you're okay! My sister and bro-in-law are in Katy, too. Their power was only out for ~8 hrs, and no house damage. Sounds like they were lucky.


----------



## leonmcd (Jul 12, 2007)

drgoodharp, apparently tearing through Texas and Arkansas didn't take much out of it. A quite memorable storm.

Update …
Hallelujah, my power came back on a little after 8 this morning. Especially nice since I just checked the CenterPoint Energy site and the latest estimate for power in my area is next Thursday.
My cable and Internet are still out (I sending this from the office).


----------



## mrtrim (Oct 11, 2007)

i just got a message back from top e5 today who lives around houston he says hes still without power .
amazing enuff here i am in florida with a generator that ive only used about 2 hours in the last 6 years . 
wish i was close enuff to loan it to some of those that need it


----------



## Chipncut (Aug 18, 2006)

I'm glad you, & your family made it through this terrible storm.

We get our cold weather, & snow storms up in N. Minnesota, but it never affects us like your hurricanes.

It's hard to even imagine what you've been through.

I hope you get your power on soon.


----------



## bbrooks (Jan 3, 2007)

Glad to hear you made it through OK. I can not imagine what it must be like for all of you folks to go through that, no electricity, the storm damage, the clean up, etc. But at least things are starting to improve. Good luck.


----------



## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

Here are a few of the logs we salvaged from fallen trees .

This picture shows a pecan log on the left, and some oak on the right.


This picture shows a Sycamore (left to right), a Crepe Myrtle (lots of ridges), a Willow (Matt), and oak.


This picture shows the Sycamore again along with the Crepe Myrtle. Top left is an older Elm log that was added to the trash but felled a month ago.


This is a close up of some interesting worm tracks on the Elm from above. I hope there's something unusual inside too.


We have also salvaged more logs that I haven't uploaded the pictures for. I'll post them later.


----------



## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

Here are some pictures of interesting logs we saw as we drove around the neighborhoods close to us but were just too large for an old man and his wife to handle. I was saddened as I took the pictures but comforted because they say the internet is forever. ;2)

I think this was Pecan.


This was a huge Pine that fell. Foot for perspective.






This is a typical pile of "trash".


----------



## BlueStingrayBoots (Jun 11, 2007)

If only I had the strength and time to recover all that hurricane wood…...its enough for a lifetime. Dont you just hate it when it all disappears. I wonder who gets it all.
See ya next hurricane season neighbor.

BSB. Mission, TX


----------



## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

I can tell you what happens to the vast majority of it in Houston. The city and county collected it and sent it to one of three chipping and shredding sites in the city. The city says these sites shredded enough wood to fill the Astrodome and I don't doubt it. I actually saw a similar site for a small suburb that had enough wood shredded to take up four football fields about thirty five feet high.

Houston has produced so much shredded wood that there is no place to send it all. They are now holding a contest for the most innovative solution to the problem with the first prize of $10,000. They think that they may come up with a way to keep most of it out of the local landfills. You can read that last sentence as "each load the city sends to the landfill costs three hundred bucks and we don't like that". A very large incentive to "keep it out of the landfills". LOL

Anyway, I plan to enter the constest because the city says they want to take the winning idea and make it city policy (law). I think the law ought to be something like "all tree trunks over eight inches in diameter must be given to me if I want them and to anyone else that wants them if I say no" so that solid wood doesn't end up getting shredded and sent to the landfill. Of course they will need to provide me with a new Wood-Mizer and a $1/year lease on a nice city lot close to my house, covered storage, kiln drying facility, etc.

On the serious side of the issue is how to do three things:
1) Delay the ultimate unavoidable return to dust of the trees that are harvested inside the city for as long as possible.
2) When the ultimate unavoidable return to dust of the trees comes, keep it out of the city's trash collection so that it doesn't end up at the landfill anyway.
3) When the ultimate unavoidable return to dust of the trees comes, make sure that the person in possesion of the tree (in whatever form it's in at the time) pays to put it in the landfill or puts it in a landfill outside the city.

Wish me luck neighbor,


----------



## TreeBones (May 21, 2007)

I'm glad that discomfort is the limit of your hardship, recovery is never very fast. Making good from the trashing of Ike will be a positive move. I hope to see some Ike projects when you are back on track.


----------



## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I am glad you got some wood,I expect most people are just happy you take it off their hands.I am however very sorrowful for the good people who have suffered as a result of this I will pray for them tonight.Alistair


----------



## mmh (Mar 17, 2008)

Glad to hear everyone survived the storm(s). I hope you all get your lives back in order quickly. It's no fun to be without power and the climate is nasty.

That pecan log is about the size of what my mother-in-law sent back with my husband, but I have two of them. I need a mill and a couple of beefy guys to help lift the stuff.


----------

