I have to preface this post with the fact that we live 75 miles away from the coastline on the North-West side of Houston.
Far enough that we were told to “hunker down” and be prepared to lose power.
Let’s just say Hurricane Ike was surely underestimated.
Starting our journey and this is just around my corner.
Trees uprooted are a completely common sight. A lot of trees were uprooted and relocated.
Poles just snapped down.
Yikes.
Car driving under the low wires.
Most gas station were out of gas the day before Ike hit.
If it’s not wrong of me to have a “favorite” this time… this is it.
Completely splintered.
The domino effect.
Can you imagine winds strong enough to just bend the pole backwards??
The crazy thing about this sign is that the whole other side of the sign is completely intact. Just the wind bearing side was torn to shreds.
Mangled Potty.
Looks like we won’t be dropping off our dry cleaning this week.
Another very common occurrence- power lines are down every where.
I was actually really shocked to see this. Our new HEB grocery store had lines out the door and around the building for folks waiting to get in. I’m not sure if it was people who weren’t prepared, or were trying to get ice since city wide we were out of power… it was just a crazy site to see so many people trying to get into the grocery store.
\
One gas station was open with a massive line waiting for the one type of gas they had.
The many layers of this billboard with the current top layer looooong gone.
I’m quite sure it’s a rarity if there are any intact signs.
This is actually a main light to get everybody on the free way going into town- so it leaves the main street out completely congested with bumper to bumper traffic.
This is a wood billboard for a new neighborhood next to our sub-division. I can only imagine large fragments of wood flying away.
You can usually see this trampoline as you drive out of our neighborhood- though originally it was intact and on the *other* side of the fence.
More snapped posts. Most of our friends live in this neighborhood and they are still without power.
Cypress, Texas - Hurricane Ike
I have no idea where to start.
This is far from the fluffy weddings and portrait sessions that my blog usually consists of.
My last couple days have been brain numbing exhausting—and quite honestly, I am not sure even what to feel. First and foremost, I feel completely grateful that my family and friends are safe. Hurricane Ike only took down our fence. We are also completely fortunate that unlike most of Houston, we were only out of power for one day. That said, we can’t help but feel completely guilty that we have had minor damage in the reality of such a historically disastrous event. Our friends still have no power, some no water, ceilings have gone into homes because of the wind and rain— trees have impaled many homes around us. If this was a “get of jail free card”, it was redeemed. So our home will continue to cycle for showers and meals…
The damage done in these photos is PALE in comparison to what can be seen from here to Galveston— and I plan to stay safe and not travel out until we are permitted. What’s crazy is the day of the storm we obviously couldn’t see any images of what was going on. My husband did travel out to his restaurant in town to assess damages and was able to relay what he had seen. (Which the restaurant did sustain considerable damage, the ceiling will need to be replaced, still no electricity,—(which means at least thousands upon thousands in food alone gone.)
Once power was restored the local news showed some images- but nothing really more then just vague coverage of flooded areas. It wasn’t until today (the day after Ike) that I ventured on to CNN.com and saw the complete devastation that is only mere miles away from here. And really, we only dread to see what is still looming in media news.
This by far, was one of the scariest moments in my life. I can’t even describe the sound 75+ mile per hour winds make that surrounded my house. We could literally feel the house move while we heard gates moan and sway, screens rattle viciously against our windows, and sounds of debris flying about. The sky lit continuously with blue blasts of light in the dark morning sky from transformers exploding. Our power flickered on and off at least a couple dozen times within a half hour finally with the results of the predicted power outage. We had no idea whether to just lay still and hope Ike passed quickly or grab our children and head to our first floor bathroom which is the center of our home. Unfortunately- HOURS passed to the same horrific tune. I stayed up the ENTIRE night. Question raced in my mind all leading to—We’re we really prepared enough??
These images were taken while my best friend Tamara drove me around my neighborhood the evening after the storm. (and my poor dear best friend… she arrived the day before Ike for “vacation” only to be consumed my her best friend frantically preparing on the questionable outcome. )
This is just really in the square mile that surrounds my house in suburbia Houston. I guess if I can reiterate anything is that we are still 75 miles away from the Galveston. So it’s unbelievable how much destruction was done from even so far inland. Ike was certainly underestimated.
There is so much more I could write. As a California girl, yes- I’ve experience a few Earthquakes (nothing major) , a few fire threats (again, nothing that made me have to leave my home) and growing up our biggest concern in Sacramento were that of dense fog or heat waves. This experience with Mother Nature rocked my core. I’m not sure it’s fully processed as the aftermath that will unfold in these next couple days and weeks will prove to be far worse then the storm itself- though located though miles inland- this folks is really right in our front door. Our town was battered- and who knows how long it will take for Galveston and Houston to recover.
PS. Thank you to all (via phone, email, twitter, facebook, myspace, and this blog) who have contacted me and I have not had a chance to reply personally. Yes, we are safe.
/images/rlrblogheader_13.jpg)
