It looks like trouble for the Texas Gulf Coast this week....Trop.ical Storm/Hurri.cane (not upgraded as of yet) Eduar.do is going to crash into Galv.eston tomorrow. My office let us go at 3:30 today to go home and prepare ourselves and is closed tomorrow. (Lucky me, IT people get to "work from home.") Being the Gulf.Coasters that we are, we were mostly ready. A last gas tank full of gas for the truck, fill up the bathtubs with water, buy 5 gallons of drinking water and 80 pounds of ice. For all you Northerners who have never gone through a hurricane and are thinking all of this preparing might be a little excessive....let me share a story with you.
In 2005, the year of back-to-back hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, we evacuated the Hou.ston area along with my parents, grandparents, good friends and everyone's animals to our lake.house in Living.ston. What normally took us 1 1/2 hours, took 4 and this was only because we left the night before everyone else did. Rita was predicted to hit Hou.ston, thus the evacuation, however, she had a different plan, and changed her course. She stayed over Living.ston/East Texas for 14 hours straight, dumping inches upon inches of rain and very strong winds. Pushing the water across the lake hard enough to breach the dam. We had zero damage to the house, but the water pushed by the wind destroyed the deck, slide, pier, and yard. Below are a couple of pics....
In 2005, the year of back-to-back hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, we evacuated the Hou.ston area along with my parents, grandparents, good friends and everyone's animals to our lake.house in Living.ston. What normally took us 1 1/2 hours, took 4 and this was only because we left the night before everyone else did. Rita was predicted to hit Hou.ston, thus the evacuation, however, she had a different plan, and changed her course. She stayed over Living.ston/East Texas for 14 hours straight, dumping inches upon inches of rain and very strong winds. Pushing the water across the lake hard enough to breach the dam. We had zero damage to the house, but the water pushed by the wind destroyed the deck, slide, pier, and yard. Below are a couple of pics....
Before Rita
During Rita
an 18 foot wave on a LAKE - shot from the 3rd story
After Rita
So believe you me, when the newscasters predict a hurricane in our area, we are on our mark and ready to go. The pantry is stocked and we are ready to settle in for the long haul. Please keep us, my family and friends and everyone else in Eduar.do's path, in your prayers this week.
P.S. By the end of this posting, it is now predicted it won't actually hit us until tomorrow afternoon because its slowing down. Slowing down can only mean one thing....gaining strength.
6 nice things to say...:
Be careful and take care of yourself! I'll be thinking of you!
Take good care of yourself, will keep you and your family in my best wishes and prayers. I have been through many a hurricane including Andrew in Florida in 1992 and you never forget the devastation. I'm so glad you guys heed the newscasters. Thanks for keeping us updated. ((Hugs))
Here in south GA I've only had to evacuate once in the past 18 years, but we sometimes have horrible storms, some flooding, and even a few tornadoes spin off from the bigger storms that put us on alert, but usually by pass us and make landfall in SC. I'll be thinking of you through the weekend.
Wow. How scary. This news makes me thankful I live in the midwest (although we did have a tornado warning tonight) but it sounds like you are smart and will keep yourself safe. Take care!
OH god! I am praying for you. I am from the North but, I live on the Long Island coast (grew up on waterfront property) so I have lived through my share of horrible hurricanes.
Please stay safe and leave if you must!
Hang in there and stay safe! Thinking of you!
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