Hurricane Ike- a thread to post status on recovery

em_adpi · #1 09-15-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulam

Galveston is virtually gone. All the great restaurants like Gaido's (my parents used to take me there as a child) and shops along the seawall are gone. There is a search and rescue operation going on now for those 7,000 people who ignored the mandatory evacuation order. No one knows how many of them survived, if any. On the other side of the island, The Strand, an old fashioned boardwalk type area was severely damaged. A cruise ship which sails from Galveston was tossed on the ground out of the water; that's how severe the storm was.

Thanks for keeping us updated. I can't help but be sad about Galveston; this is one of my favorite places to vacation and I have lots of great family camping memories there.

Ironically, I have been evacuated from Galveston myself... but that was for Hurricane Brett(?) about 9-10 years ago.

SWTXBelle · #2 09-15-2008, 10:25 PM

I really hate that we didn't make the annual family trip to Galveston. Stewart Beach, the Balinese (Z Z Top,anyone?) , the Strand, the Elissa, Gaido's . . . who knows when we will be able to go again.
There is a big problem with the continued failure to allow media to cover the West End. What ARE they afraid of us finding out? They are reporting 35 dead so far - but I fear it will be much, much worse. The man I called "Dad" because of our working relationship at the TX Renfair had a beach house at Crystal Beach - you could see the beach from his window. He died last year, and I'm afraid his house - which he so loved - is gone. Another friend who was proably too stubborn to leave - I fear HE is going to end up being a casualty.
My heart just aches. I love Galveston - its funky Victorian charm, its citizens who are proud to be BOI, the fact that after the 1900 Storm they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, built the seawall, raised the whole city and went forward.

AGDee · #3 09-15-2008, 10:35 PM

I saw the Balinese on TV, and Gaido's too.. I think they are both a pile of rubble. Was the Strand a strip mall? They showed a strip mall that looked like a very sad game of pickup sticks.

When the media was covering Katrina, I remember seeing bodies.. and thinking "they shouldn't be showing this on TV". They were saying that they couldn't access the West End at all, but they were going other places in boats, rescuing people. I too fear the casualty count will be high. I did hear one reporter say that much of the West End consists of vacation homes and rentals and the hope was that not too many people were actually there at the time. I hope that was the case.

It's truly heartbreaking. I was going to Obama's website today to make a donation and the first page it took me to this morning was a "Donate to the Red Cross or Save the Children" page for victims of Ike. I realized then that, oddly, after other extreme events, there were big pushes to donate and I haven't heard any this time. I went right to the Red Cross page and made a donation. I decided that donating to Obama and the Red Cross was more important than paying off the credit card.. it can wait til next month.

SWTXBelle · #4 09-15-2008, 10:49 PM

The Strand is near the wharf district. It was the orignal business district back before 1900 - when Galveston was "the Wall Street of the South". It was (is?) Dickens on the Strand is held - beautiful brick Victorian-era buildings. It has been beautifully restored . . .

em_adpi · #5 09-15-2008, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

The Strand is near the wharf district. It was the orignal business district back before 1900 - when Galveston was "the Wall Street of the South". It was (is?) Dickens on the Strand is held - beautiful brick Victorian-era buildings. It has been beautifully restored . . .

Aww, Dickens on the Strand...

I remember visiting Galveston back when the old Sea-A-Rama building stood in ruins. I loved camping at the state park with the beach on one side and the oil lights from Houston shining in the distance. Oh, and all the big, beautiful houses on the beach...

Just curious... anyone know about Snoopy's in Corpus Christi? I just wondered how that area fared as well.

AlphaSigOU · #6 09-16-2008, 10:47 PM

Heading down to West Houston this weekend. As some of you may know, I am a volunteer member of Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary. We've been called up to fly disaster relief and damage assessment missions in the wake of Ike.

AGDee · #7 09-16-2008, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaSigOU

Heading down to West Houston this weekend. As some of you may know, I am a volunteer member of Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary. We've been called up to fly disaster relief and damage assessment missions in the wake of Ike.

Good for you. I'm glad people are going in to help.

SWTXBelle needs ice badly.. just sayin'