Ike

[Nana]

Please say a little prayer for my sister and her family as well as my Dad. It appears that they live in the current path of Hurricane Ike. They are in the process of securing the house and waiting to see whether to evacuate. It looks like Ike may be a bad one for Texas.

[Ed]

Unfortunately, you're right; Ike looks to be a bad one at this point.

Here's hopes that all out Intercotees, their families and friends in coastal Texas stay safe.

[the other micki]

My prayers are with the people in TX. I live near Baton Rouge and we are all still recovering from Gustav.

[Strmchsr]

Lots of for your family and anyone who ends up in the path of Ike.

[Melanie]

for all our Texas INTERCOTees!!! Stay safe and check in when you can.

[mrsgaribaldi]

and prayers on the way.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Please, everyone stay safe.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Prayers are with you.

[disneydrmr]

Thoughts and prayers to all in Ike's path. Please stay safe.

[Nut4DW]

Thanks all for your prayers - we are directly in the current projected path of Ike - about 100 miles from the coast - latest information for us is that we should expect 100 mph sustained winds for at least an hour - we are moving everything we can outside and securing everything else. We will have to be on the lookout for tornados also - so keep the prayers coming please. Looks like it should do a lot of damage over a huge area. We expect to be without power for a few days - but will let you guys know how we fared with we can.

[SgtTigger]

Please everyone stay safe......

As the current time we are getting tropical storm force winds here in St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana.... That storm is a long way away and we are still felling it here......

[azdisneymom]

Prayers for all those in Ike's path going out now.

[angel8783]

We are also in the path of the storm. We live north of Houston about 80 miles from Galveston. My office closes tomorrow at 1pm and I live about 5 minutes away from my job, so it should be no problem to get home. We made it to the store and we have put all our patio stuff in the garage! When we renovated our house, they required we put shingles on that withstand 110 mph winds and we have all new double pane windows, so I feel safe. The only worry is all those trees since we live in an older neighborhood with very mature trees.

[Nana]

I talked to my sister. She is in Katy and my Dad is in Waller. My Dad lives in a trailer so he has evacuated to my sister's house. My understanding is that at the current projected path, she is directly in line with the eye of Ike. She is really not saying much. Just that they are hunkering down. For those in the area, what all are you guys being told? 100 mile per hour winds? I know my Dad has been told that he probably will not have a home when he returns. He is not believing it and has gone to the grocery store and bought steaks. He put them in the freezer for when he returns home he can cook out. I can not tell if he is scared and acting tough or if he really does not understand. He is in his 70s and sometimes I am just not sure. My sister took all the pictures and put them in waterproof containers and then placed them in the attic. I have read about the bags in the freezer. Any other suggestions.

[daparish]

I talked to my sister. She is in Katy and my Dad is in Waller. My Dad lives in a trailer so he has evacuated to my sister's house. My understanding is that at the current projected path, she is directly in line with the eye of Ike. She is really not saying much. Just that they are hunkering down. For those in the area, what all are you guys being told? 100 mile per hour winds? I know my Dad has been told that he probably will not have a home when he returns. He is not believing it and has gone to the grocery store and bought steaks. He put them in the freezer for when he returns home he can cook out. I can not tell if he is scared and acting tough or if he really does not understand. He is in his 70s and sometimes I am just not sure. My sister took all the pictures and put them in waterproof containers and then placed them in the attic. I have read about the bags in the freezer. Any other suggestions.

How far inland does your sister live? Does she live in a two story home? I notice you said she put her pictures in a waterproof container and placed them in the attic so I would think she is not very far inland. Sgt Tigger can explain this better to you than I can but please tell them to be prepared if they are staying. Do they have a hatchet to break through the ceiling if need be to get into the attic or on the roof? I truly do not want to alarm you but I just want to be sure they are prepared. The water came up very, very fast in St. Bernard parish for Katrina and every house was flooded. My mom lived outside of the protection levee and her house was washed away. We expected it because of where it was located but no one expected the entire parish to flood the way it did. Please know that everyone in the path of Ike is in my thoughts and prayers. I know the anxiety of waiting for the unknown and then dealing with the aftermath. Again, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

. My sister took all the pictures and put them in waterproof containers and then placed them in the attic. I have read about the bags in the freezer. Any other suggestions.

I hope he doesn't have a bad time. Without sounding pessimistic, for insurance purposes, he may want to photograph each room, in case he has to prove damages/losses, and put the pix in a safe place. Prepare for loss of power for a while--need Rx's, water, batteries, nonperishables, gas (plus for generator?), extensions cords, fans?, car charger for cell phones, and instructions on how to text if he doesn't normally do that? I wish the best for your family.

[daparish]

Thanks all for your prayers - we are directly in the current projected path of Ike - about 100 miles from the coast - latest information for us is that we should expect 100 mph sustained winds for at least an hour - we are moving everything we can outside and securing everything else. We will have to be on the lookout for tornados also - so keep the prayers coming please. Looks like it should do a lot of damage over a huge area. We expect to be without power for a few days - but will let you guys know how we fared with we can.

Please know that you and your family are in my prayers.

We are also in the path of the storm. We live north of Houston about 80 miles from Galveston. My office closes tomorrow at 1pm and I live about 5 minutes away from my job, so it should be no problem to get home. We made it to the store and we have put all our patio stuff in the garage! When we renovated our house, they required we put shingles on that withstand 110 mph winds and we have all new double pane windows, so I feel safe. The only worry is all those trees since we live in an older neighborhood with very mature trees.

I know you only work 5 minutes from your home but try to leave as early as possible. It took me 5 hours to get to some place that usually takes 20 minutes during our evacuation for Gustav. It took a total of 21 hours to get from Louisiana to Alabama (usually 3 hours). My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[Nana]

She is about 75 miles inland. For those who might remember Ali's Mom-she lives in the same area. I may be naive but I do not think she will have flooding but I am concerned about the winds. My nephews will definately have something to talk about next family reunion. They are 11 and 14. I have spent many vacations at Galveston and Kemah. I hate to think anything is going to happen tthere My sister (whose name by the way is Lori)told me the gas stations were out of gas and the grocery store lines were over 3 hours long.
Here is what I find somewhat scary/ This is from MSNBC: "in a calculated risk aimed at avoiding total gridlock, authorities told most people in Houston — the nation's fourth-largest city — to just hunker down. " The winds in her area are expected to be 70-100 mph. She is in a 1 1/2 story home with just a playroom upstairs. There is no interior room as all of her rooms face outer walls. She does not even have a hall because of the way the house is built.

[Here we go again...]

Well, it looks like we are looking at another "Rita" type hurricane. Since I just got off work (yes, the pahrmacies are THAT insane right now) I have not had much time to look at the TV.
I had no idea that Ike turned a little north today until I got the flood of people from southern Louisiana filling prescriptions because they were under mandatory evacuation.
It looks like the water surge might go as far as highway 14 in Abbeville which is what Rita did.
We are in for rain and some wind.

I am ready for a vacation....

Everyone stay safe!!!

[angel8783]

I think she will be fine in Katy. I am near Conroe, and the eye is forecasted to come over me at this time also (Montgomery County is directly north of Harris County where Katy is). My parents made it through Hurricane Alicia in 1983 in a mobile home much closer to the coast than she is and the eye came over their house.

The traffic is gridlocked, but trust me, it is much better to be "hunkered down" than to be caught on the freeway with no cover. Rita was an absolute nightmare as far as traffic went and I truly believe it is better to stay put unless you are down at the coast.

Plus, you never really know what could happen with these storms. It will hit, but how hard and EXACTLY where no one know for 100% until it happens.

Just pray that her ultimate worst problem is lack of electricity, which is a pain, but if she is prepared can be easily dealt with.

The media also does a good job of hyping these storms up for us too. I mean, you should prepare for sure, but with Rita the hype here in Houston was massive, yet the impact in our viewing area was minimal COMPARED to what they said it would be.

Take it from someone in the greater Houston area also about the same distance from the coast... I think she will be fine, if not a little shaken by the experience.