Ike
My mom lives in Houston and my Dad lives in Galveston, so Ike is definitely on my mind. I talked to my mom for about a half hour today. Her apartment didn't suffer much direct damage--some shingles blown off and a bit of water that leaked in. She's got electricity but the water is out. She's got enough water stockpiled to last a few days, but the air conditioning system at her complex requires running water to work. Houston is the most air-conditioned city in the world for a reason--it's truly miserable without it. I really hope her water comes back on soon.
I reckon my dad is probably much worse off. I last talked to him on Thursday. He was in Canada for a meeting and had been planning to return Friday night. He'd decided to just stay up there a few days extra and return Sunday. At the time he said the predictions looked pretty grim, but that he had insurance on everything. I haven't heard from him since then, though I sent him an email just now. I'll call if I don't get a reply.
From what I've seen on the news, Galveston seems pretty fubar. Seeing scenes of the seawall and I45 completely covered in wreckage is pretty surreal (I lived there for a few summers so I recognize a lot of the places shown on CNN, NYT, etc.) I'm pretty pessimistic about my dad's property. He leaves near 103rd St., and the seawall only extends to 99th. Considering that a lot of stuff protected by the seawall looked pretty messed up, I can only imagine what my dad's place looks like after a 15-foot storm surge. He's only about 2 years from retiring; I wonder if maybe he'll just throw in the towel early.
I reckon my dad is probably much worse off. I last talked to him on Thursday. He was in Canada for a meeting and had been planning to return Friday night. He'd decided to just stay up there a few days extra and return Sunday. At the time he said the predictions looked pretty grim, but that he had insurance on everything. I haven't heard from him since then, though I sent him an email just now. I'll call if I don't get a reply.
From what I've seen on the news, Galveston seems pretty fubar. Seeing scenes of the seawall and I45 completely covered in wreckage is pretty surreal (I lived there for a few summers so I recognize a lot of the places shown on CNN, NYT, etc.) I'm pretty pessimistic about my dad's property. He leaves near 103rd St., and the seawall only extends to 99th. Considering that a lot of stuff protected by the seawall looked pretty messed up, I can only imagine what my dad's place looks like after a 15-foot storm surge. He's only about 2 years from retiring; I wonder if maybe he'll just throw in the towel early.