Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Hurricane Geek (sorta)

I'm a bit of a weather geek for watching hurricanes - well really just the ones heading towards Texas. The last big one I followed was Rita which much like Ike covered the majority of the Gulf of Mexico. It's just awe inspiring. Why watch hurricanes in Texas? My sister Jo Anne lives there. Last night I got through to her and here's an update on things in her neck of the wood - post Ike.

News from Jo's part of the world (Spring, TX):
  • She has water and gas, but no electricity
  • Power lines in places have been broken completely in half, workers are being sent in to help with getting the power back on
  • Almost all of the transformers in the grid were down. (2.2 million people affected, 500K had their power restored as of when I had talked to her last night)
  • Mail service has not been interrupted (she's proud of her post office)
  • House next door and across the street had a tree fall on them, her fence was blown down
  • Looting and people looking for a fight on her on street
  • No ATM machines, most banks are closed, grocery stores are running debit as credit
  • Gas stations have tankers, police, and big lines
  • More news at khou.com
Suz

2 comments:

Jeanne said...

Wow!
You know what they say about the mail though... only federal holidays can stop them!
I am glad she is okay. The looting is the thing that makes me angry.

Suzanne said...

I'm with you. Isn't recovering from the storm enough to worry about? It was one house on her street. The phones are down so they can't call the police easily as cell service is on and off. My sister has a big dog so maybe the barking will help keep her safe? I hope.