i'm hearing from multiple sources that it's all booked up. i still don't know what i'm doing...plan on making my decision tomorrow night or the next morning.
http://weather.khou.com/auto/khou/tropical/tracking/at200518_5day.html Looks like it'll hit Matagorda Bay. If you are more than 50 miles from the eye, you are looking at tropical storm conditions. I have looked at this thing three times today and each time it keeps shifting to the west. That said...if it looks like it'll hit Galveston, I am going to Ft. Worth on Thursday night.
I live on the Seawall in Galveston....I have renters and wind storm insurance. I have to get up at 3:30 in the morning cuz I'm off to Washington DC............for a week long vacation. I hope I have something to come home too.
we're in spring, so i'm not too worried (yet). my parents are in NYC and their flight is supposed to get in thursday night. i'll be back in san marcos by then, if rita is bad enough my siblings will probably go with me or head up there a little later. i just jope ACL doesn't get too much rain or *gulp* cancelled.
Would you board up your windows if you lived in Sugar Land/ Fort Bend? And if you had to pick, would Dallas be a better place to go to than Austin?
We are kinda set, other than plywood. We need that to board up the windows. We already have lots of bottled water, and some food for a few days.
Yea...thats all I need now. I havent had my company truck this week...but Im getting it back tomorrow, so Il lbe going after playwood and plylox(if I can find them) to cover my south-facing windows and then Im set....got candles, batteries, plenty of canned goods, charcoal and wood to fire up the pit if necessary(after the storm goes thru obviously) the area of Baytown I live in has never flooded and we are just north of the flood plain....so short of a direct Cat 4 hit, Im staying. If it looks like a direct hit by a strong Cat 4 by Friday morning...Ill head to our farm in Livingston...but I hope I dont need to...I got WAY too much electronics to risk leaving the house unprotected..
What is your address? I'll drive by with a couple of my buddies to make sure everything is ok. Just leave a key under the mat.
Man, I swear if this friggin' hurricane or a tornado or something levels the house I just re-financed and poured $10k worth of construction into, I'm moving to ****ing Wyoming or something. Damnit!
I live in a 1st floor apartment in Clear Lake and everyone is telling me to leave but I don't want to. I guess I will have to if it looks like its going to come directly. I hope this thing turns far away from us. I'm afraid i'm going to lose most of my possessions.
I'm at SHSU right now so there's not much planning going on for me except having some extra supplies and a full tank of gas in case of whatever. My parents and brother are in Webster though and they will find out what's happening tomorrow. My mom works for Mainland Medical Center in Texas City so once she finds out whether she has to stay or not, they will make the decision. From talking to my dad, they are boarding the windows up, moving some electronics (8 computers!) to an upstairs hallway and bagging them, and then either riding it out in the hospital with my mom or driving to College Station to stay with my sister.
Any ideas about how bad it might hit a inner-looper like me? I'm in Timbergrove, just west of the Heights.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/31/earlyshow/living/ConsumerWatch/main807508.shtml Making Homes Hurricane-Resistant Some estimates put Hurricane Katrina's toll in the $26 billion range in insured losses alone. That would make it more costly than the record-setting Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which caused an inflation-adjusted $21 billion in losses. Millions of people along the Gulf coast have been displaced by Katrina, whose furious winds literally ripped homes right off their foundations, and whose floodwaters inundated countless others. But, as The Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen reports, some insurers are trying to create stronger, tougher, hurricane-resistant homes to cut down on that type of destruction in the future. Engineers for one such carrier, Johnston, R.I.-based FM Global, are recreating hurricane scenarios in the company's lab, trying to come up with materials to use on homes to help them withstand the wrath of hurricanes. FM Global's Mike Burke says most people think hurricane damage isn't preventable but, "We don't think that's the case." Koeppen saw demonstrations of some of the materials in use. It doesn't take a lot of wind to destroy a home, she learned watching a simulation of gravel hitting a window at 40 mph. The window shattered. Then she saw the same simulator used on a window with a glazing. The window is damaged, but doesn't shatter. That's significant, because it could keep rainwater from getting into homes and destroying them. Many people put up plywood on windows before a storm moves in, which is a good idea, Koeppen says. But make sure you put up enough. One ½-inch sheet doesn't keep out all debris. Koeppen saw a test where a 2-by-4 is shot at the plywood and goes right through it. When the plywood is doubled-up, the 2-by-4 bounces off in the test. That's important for the rain aspect as well: A smashed piece of plywood will let in all the water. Koeppen also saw a test of wind on a roof. At 30 to 60 mph, the shingles were already lifting off. At 120 mph, they were almost half gone. At 150 mph, they were pretty much all gone. That means water would get into the roof and leak down into the house. "Shingles are there entirely for water damage," Burke says. "That's their only function and, once their gone, water is coming into the building. There's going to be an awful lot of damage." Whether it's safer windows or stronger roofs, says Burke, "Ideally, you'd like to get a hurricane warning and say, 'So what?' And that's possible." Insurance experts point out that these types of changes don't have to cost much. Using more nails, screws and clips to keep your home in place and keep your roof on could make a big difference. Special windows with coating are also relatively inexpensive. Water does a lot of damage. If windows crack, it's no big deal. But if they shatter, you have to replace the window and everything in that room because the water was able to rush in and destroy things. That also applies when a roof leaks.
Some good tips here: http://hurricane.weathercenter.com/MGBK2AS0J8E.html The Storm Is Near Published: May 15, 2005 What can I do now to prepare? If your emergency kit is assembled, you already have taken one of the most important steps. Check it again to be sure it has what you need. Make any last-minute purchases. What are good nonperishable foods to have on hand? Foods that are easy to prepare and need little water: Canned pastas, soups, meats such as tuna, fruits and juices, peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, raisins, dried fruits, beef jerky and canned juice. I don't have much time. What's the most important stuff I need? Collect these personal and household documents: Marriage certificates, divorce decrees, birth certificates, driver's licenses, Social Security cards, passports, immigration records, trusts and wills. Titles, deeds and registrations for property and vehicles; mortgage and other loan information. Bank account records, insurance policies, investment records, credit card statements, income tax information. Put the papers in a waterproof container and tuck it in a drawer or high on a shelf. Take the container with you if you evacuate. What can I do now to make life easier if my power goes out? Fill your vehicles with gasoline because gas stations may not have electricity for the pumps. Have cash because ATMs and credit card machines won't work without power. Do the laundry and run the dishwasher. Have a cell phone charger that runs off the car's cigarette lighter. Have a battery-powered television and rabbit ears or a battery-powered radio to help you stay informed. Get a battery-powered hand-held fan to help keep cool. Turn the refrigerator and freezer to their coldest settings. Fill their empty spaces with containers of water. When should I put up the shutters and move the stuff out of my yard? A tropical storm watch means winds of 39 mph to 73 mph are possible within 36 hours. A hurricane watch means you can expect winds of 74 mph or higher within 36 hours. Next is a hurricane warning, meaning winds exceeding 73 mph could arrive within 24 hours or less. Put up shutters and remove objects in the yard during the watch. Winds could quickly become too strong for you to wrestle with heavy shutters during the warning. Make it easier by teaming up with friends or neighbors to put up shutters or plywood panels and clear yards of potted plants, garden gnomes, statuary, barbecue grills, bird baths, political signs, patio furniture, and anything else that can become a missile. Don't put tape on the windows. It is a waste. Tape provides no protection and is hard to remove. I've got plywood for my windows. How do I put it up? If you have a frame home, locate the framing studs. Drive wood screws through the plywood and into the center of the stud above, below and on the sides of each window. Be sure the screws hit the studs solidly to provide an anchor. (Illustration on Page 19.) If the shortest dimension of the window or door is 4 feet or less, space the fasteners 6 inches apart. If the shortest dimension exceeds 4 feet, space the fasteners 3 inches apart. To attach plywood to a concrete block home, use a 7/32- inch concrete bit to drill holes in the concrete wall around the window. The holes should be at least 3 inches from the edge of the window and spaced about one foot from each other. Insert PanelMates - special hanger bolts available at hardware stores - into the holes. Drill matching holes into your plywood sheet. To hang the panels, slide the plywood over the protruding PanelMate bolts. Place a washer on each bolt, then fasten with wing nuts. How can I protect my pool? Stow pool equipment and super chlorinate the water. Lower the water level by about one foot to absorb rain from the storm. Don't lower it more or groundwater rising underneath could uproot the pool. Turn off the pool pump at the circuit breaker to keep it from shorting out. How can I protect my home if there's flooding? Nothing can guarantee water will not get into your house if the area floods. However, you can reduce the amount. (Illustration on Page 19.) Tape a large plastic sheet across any doorway water may enter, extending it along the outside wall well past the door opening. Attach it a few feet up the wall, spread the plastic on the ground away from the foundation and weigh it down. Or, fill sandbags halfway and stack them to channel water away from your home. Tamp each sandbag into place, completing each layer before beginning a new one. Lay a plastic sheet between the building and the bags to control the flow. Don't stack the bags more than three high unless they are leaning against something solid. They could topple. You can use sandbags across a doorway in addition to the plastic sheeting. Put the sheeting across the doorway and stick it to the walls with tape. Stack several rows of sandbags on it in front of the door. You also can use expandable foam sold in home supply stores. It comes in spray cans and hardens quickly. Spray it around the edges of a doorway higher than you would expect water to reach and along the bottom of the door. You can remove the hardened foam with a putty knife, but it will probably take off the door finish, too. What else can I do to reduce flooding problems? Clear brush and other debris from the road to keep it from clogging the storm sewer. Clean the gutters to keep water moving away from your house. Elevate your furniture on concrete blocks, 2-by-4s, or bricks and put wood furniture legs in plastic containers to protect them. Unplug your computer. Move electronic equipment to high places, preferably a second floor. Don't overlook closets when moving items off the floor. Put photographs and other special keepsakes in waterproof containers or drawers. Roll up area rugs and put them on a table or a bed. If you put your clothing in plastic bags, be sure to seal them completely. Pin up draperies and upholstery skirts. How can I protect the fish in my aquarium if the power goes out? Battery-powered air pumps are available at aquarium stores and bait and tackle shops. Have spare batteries for the pumps in your emergency kit. What can I do now to prepare for insurance claims? Take pictures of every room in your home. Mail them to someone out of state for safekeeping. You can use those to compare with photos you take after the storm if there is damage.
I guess you don't remember Alicia? We lived in Northside (Near Northline Mall) and the storm's AIR PRESSURE sucked the water out of our toilets... All we had was drips of water... We were out of water for two days... Now - this is whole lot bigger than Alicia... Plus it's on the list of items for a "Hurricane Kit"... So people are just following orders... Don't blame them..... Don't forget as well - if you lose water pressure you have 40 GALLONS of DRINKABLE water in your WATER HEATER. (and that's what we used after Alicia)
