I think a key for any evacuation is not taking a traditional evacuation route. Instead of taking I-10 to San Antonio, why not go 59 south to Victoria and then north to there? Use Highway 3, 1960, Highway 6 and other non-freeway evacuations. You could use Highway 90 or 1093 going east. People don't realize how many different ways there are to evacuate. Everyone just thinks, "MUST GO NORTH!" But if you have 36 hours to evacuate and traffic is potentially bad on traditional freeways, take a more "scenic" route or a non-traditional route that probably won't have traffic.
Just FYI, I worked for Ozarka a number of years ago in their main office and those pitchers don't do really anything. They'll filter the smell and pull out some of the heavier mineral content, but they don't really clean up the water that much.
I don't like smelly water. It might not really do anything, but I still like it better than regular tap water.
As many know, we went to Wellington, Kansas, just south of Wichita. We left our apartment at the Beltway and Briarforest at Midnight Thursday morning. As I stopped to get a drink at the corner store, I saw the gridlock that was the Beltway heading north. I decided to try the Westpark Tollway and we ended up at Grand Parkway in 15 minutes. We hit mild traffic at a stop light in Fulshear, but nothing too bad. We stayed on 1093 to Wallis where we hit 36 which had massive traffic. Fortunately, we were on 36 for about half a mile and then took a left to continue on 1093. We stopped for a few minutes in Eagle Lake, but once we were cleared to go by the cops, it was clear sailing on 90-A. When we hit 71, I thought that I could hop on that road and take it to LaGrange and then 77 to Waco to hit I-35. Well, about half a mile up 71, we hit gridlock, so I flipped a ****ty, took a left on 90-A and made it to Halletsville in relatively light traffic. Once we hit 77 in Halletsville, it was smooth sailing until we hit 190 just outside of Cameron, but again, that was due to the cops directing traffic. After that, nothing outside of morning traffic in Fort Worth. The normally 10 hour trip took 12. Many people didn't go 4 miles in that amount of time.
gotta drink from the fridge filtering... thas it and thas all we prepared, had water bottles filled up, and trash bags full of water... and liek 3 candles, other than that we were gunna let fate take its toll...
Nope, I do too. I also drink it from the fridge, I'm not sure if it's filtered or not. It tastes the same as tap water to me. Tap water in this country is usually ok I think, compared to the rest of the world.
I was well prepared I think. To improve I think I will... 1. Get all my important papers together in one place (I need to do this anyway). 2. Buy a generator 3. Store more gas. (I had 9 gallons and I gave it to my brother in law to help him get to Austin early Friday morning). 4. Pre cut some plywood for my windows
After talking with my dad this weekend, he said he has learned a few things and is going to make some changes. 1. He is going to buy plywood too and have it cut and ready to go in a moments notice. He says he doesn't have time to wait around at Home Depot all day for deliveries because being a pharmicist he works right up until a storm arrives. 2. He now has bricks to jack up his furniture with since their house sits in the 100 year flood plain for White Oak bayou. 3. He got away with storing potted plants and lawn furniture in the neighbors garage. He may have to use his own next time. His garage housed my uncles car since it would have been left exposed in an apartment parking lot. 4. My parents cats will be on their own in the house with food, water and litter box on a table. The cats are semi-wild even though they live in the house. They are refugees that showed up after the Allison flood. My parents adopted them, but they aren't completely tame. My dad has to put on body armor just to get them to the vet. He says he can't take them anywhere for any long period of time.
I'm in awe of you guys - for real. (not being sarcastic). For perspective, I live in NYC in an apartment. I have a hammer. And I have a screwdriver. But that's it.
I don't live near the Gulf anymore and I need to be prepared...I agree with pre-cutting your plywood and having it just in case and some of the other suggestions...
We were ok. I need to precut some plywood so I dont have to think about it next time. The biggest problem I had was the dent in my beer supply after 3 days off.
I will be buying a generator and a larger supply of gas (with some stabilizer). I already have a few power supplies, a camping water filtration system, extra propane tanks and portable grill, and lots of canned food.
I was pretty prepared. I like the idea of putting a list together of places I can take my cats. Next time I'll make sure I have a bottle of Feliway before I leave. That was a nightmare. I have a truck so all but the kittens were in the bed. I built a cover that stood about 4 inches above the sides to protect them from the wind while driving. I had to drive Conroe to pick up a bottle from a friend. They were not happy cats. After I got some they were fine the rest of the drive. Jeff if you ever have to transport your cats again get a bottle of Feliway. It worked great with my cats (6 + 6 kittens).
