Hurricane Ike: After

(Part 3 of 3 in my mini-series on Hurricane Ike.)

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

The first thing I saw when I looked out the window was the fence in my friend's back yard. It was flat on the ground. And her yard was littered roof shingles. Some of the bushes in their front yard were wiped out. Compared to what happened in other parts of southeast Texas, they escaped lightly.

We went to work on the refrigerator, emptying out the contents and putting staples (like cheese, milk, and lunch meats) in an ice-filled cooler while eating the extremely perishable items (mostly leftovers). There was a strict no-open policy on the refrigerator and freezer doors. I had to wait most of the day to retrieve my 7up from the fridge.


My friend's husband went to work in the yard, cleaning up the debris and temporarily repairing the damage. That's how they roll in Texas. Hunker down for the storm and the start cleaning up the mess.

Only the mess this time was the biggest one in over two decades. More than 2 million people lost power. Let me repeat that. Over 2 million people without power. Although the energy companies got to work right away, restoring power to my friend's house and my apartment within 24 hours, some Houston residents are still without power. Two weeks after the storm and they still have no air conditioning, no internet access, and no means of storing and cooking foods. It's like living in pioneer times.

I didn't venture out until Sunday, a good 36 hours after the storm. Houston was under a curfew (6am to 7pm, I think) and was encouraging residents not to go out unless absolutely necessary. I went to check on the status of my apartment (with horrified images of my very exposed bedroom windows being blown out and my YA collection destroyed by wind and rain). Thankfully, there had been only a brief power outage and loss of water pressure.

I returned to my friend's home, waiting for the water to be restored--that happened on Monday. I was so lucky. I only experienced a brief period without power and had to wait an extra day to return home because of water pressure. So many other have suffered and are still suffering more.

I'll let some of my pictures do the talking now.

This is the parking lot behind my Starbucks.

Whole trees down in my neighborhood.

That lake off to the left? It's actually a parking lot and baseball and soccer fields.

The freezer section in my grocery store, about five days after the storm. Other sections, along with lots of stuff in the dairy and produce areas, were completely empty.

A traffic signal just hanging down to the street.

Though the national media coverage may have waned, the residents of the Houston Bay Area still live with the devastation of Hurricane Ike. Residents of the Bolivar peninsula were only just allowed back to *look* at their homes today. Many are homeless, powerless, and waterless. Traffic signals still don't work, curfews are still in effect, and the restoration and recovery efforts will still be going strong months from now.

Keep Houston in your thoughts and, if you feel compelled, donate to the Red Cross in Ike's name. The people of southeast Texas will come back stronger and faster for your help.

Hugs,
TLC