Texans Don’t Like Ike

While we were watching Gustav a couple of weeks ago, Tropical Storm Ike was reving up to cross the Atlantic and strike a killing blow on Haiti, Cuba and other spots in between Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.  This time, having learned some hard lessons from Katrina and Rita, the people of the Texas Gulf Coast starting preparing for him.  All the officials (or at least most of them) worked together to coordinate evacuations for those in the most vulnerable areas and to educate those who would “shelter in place” – get water, batteries, non-perishable food, batteries, fill up the gas tank, etc.  Most people heeded the word, but not all.  Some on Galveston Island and some coastal communities remembered the nightmare of trying to go north during Rita, stuck in traffic for days, and said they’d rather take their chances. Some said they’d never cut and run before, and they didn’t plan to now either – they stocked up on beer and bullets and waited for the fun to start.   The officials gave more dire warnings every day, as Ike grew stronger and more deadly than any storm in recent memory. They had buses to take people to shelters, they said pets could come too, but 20,000 people just wouldn’t leave.  Even when the streets of Galveston started flooding many hours before the storm hit …

I was not in an evacuation area. My son and I rode out the storm just fine.  The power was out for a couple of days, there was no gas to be found, storms and restaurants were closed, but we were okay.  We had our bottled water, our food, flashlights.  Neighbors came out after the storm and started helping each other out.  Gangs of chainsaw-toting husbands marched around the streets cutting up downed trees while the women cleaned out freezers and prepared picnics.  It was not so bad, not for us, the prudent, the prepared.

Down on the island, and on Crystal Beach and Bolivar Peninsula those who stayed and survived were lining up for ice and water and food. There was no electricity, no water, little health care, and it would be weeks before things could return to even near normal.  Some people were rescued during the storm by brave men and women who shouldn’t have had to put themselves in such danger. Some asked to be evacuated after all.  Even though the death toll is low so far, some of the communities appear to have been wiped off the map. I hope the people who lived in the houses now buried under a layer of sand were among the ones who heeded the warnings and left, but I know there were some who didn’t. The days ahead will be hard, so hard the mayor of Galveston has asked everyone who is not a part of the recovery process to leave.

Hurricane Ike – it was the best of times – neighbors working together, strangers helping those less fortunate, government agencies performing their jobs well — it was the worst of times – looting, price gouging, people who have electricity and food going to the PODs to get free stuff meant for those who don’t. We are living in interesting times.