BS: Ike Shelter

Subject: BS: Ike Shelter after
From: olddude
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 07:05 PM

I figured we better start a thread for folks if this turns out as bad as it is predicted. My office is available. I live near Buffalo NY and it is a long way from Texas. But the offer is still there just like we did for the last one.

Folks under seige from this storm are In my Prayers

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 07:06 PM

Likewise in southwest Washington. Females, no pets. mg

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 07:15 PM

SE corner of Wyoming....anybody welcome, pets included. Well, OK, maybe not reptiles.....

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: SINSULL
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 07:58 PM

South Portland, ME. Pets welcome.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: SINSULL
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 07:59 PM

Is Jed Marum in the path of this monster?

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: artbrooks
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 07:59 PM

Albuquerque

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Janie
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 12:08 AM

Piedmont area, North Carolina. Pets are fine, as are youngin's.

Do we have any Cats right on the Gulf coast or in Houston?    This thing is gonna cause significant flooding from the rains as it moves north and up into Arkansas.

Prayers for safety for all in Ike's path.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 12:31 AM

Jed is in the Dallas area, I'm in Fort Worth, they're about 45 miles apart. We're supposed to get wet, might get several inches of rain, local flooding. Winds supposed to be in the 40mph range with gusts. Tornadoes will be more of a problem for us than tidal surges.

I have a couple of spare beds, up I-35W from the low lands. (Don't miss the "W" part of I-35--it splits, half to FW, half to Dallas.)

Tarrant and Dallas Counties have signs up directing hurricane evacuees to shelters in town. Between Dallas and Fort Worth and surrounding cities, I think they're expecting several thousand people. If you can read this and you need a place, and if I have a clue as to who you are through Mudcat, post here and we'll work out a way to make phone contact.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Rasener
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 02:38 AM

My thoughts and best wishes are with you all who are in the path of Ike.
Watching the news at the moment. Expected to hit land in about 2 hours. 20 to 50 foot waves. That is hard to imagine.

Les
Market Rasen
UK

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 10:01 AM

I thought I might get out and mow the front lawn early this morning, but I slept past 7 and that's when I would have needed to start. The green smudge is just moving over the area, drizzle is underway. We're hearing about the winds and the still images from insane weather reporters are coming in.

I dropped my TV satellite service last spring and got the HD converter this summer. Turns out the local channels have extra channels on the side and most of them have comprehensive weather coverage--we're set to keep track of this. If the lights go out, I have a good book to read. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 10:24 AM

Houston has no power. Hospitals are OK because they have underground lines.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Scooby Doo
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 11:30 AM

Hope all the catters are safe who are in line of the Hurricane Ike.
From across the pond.
Scooby

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 12:15 PM

N Central PA an hour north of Williamsport. Pets OK. Stairs to deal with, and mold allergies this is not the place for you.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: PoppaGator
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 12:52 PM

Perhaps getting used to mold would be a good idea for evacuees, so they can build up some tolerance before returning to gut their houses.

Bad joke ~ sorry.

Actually, while upwards of 100,000 homes in coastal Texas are expected to take on water ~ compared to about 80,000 in metro New Orleans three years ago ~ Ike's floodwaters will subside relatively soon, and the really hideous mold we saw growing in Post-Katrina New Orleans should not be expected to develop.

Because N.O is surrounded by levees that held the scummy floodwaters in for 5-6 weeks after our catastrophe, we had all kinds of festering infectious developments that the Ike victims probably won't have to deal with. Small consolation for anyone facing major damages, for sure, but there you have it.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 01:09 PM

The insurance laws here in Texas have allowed the homeowners insurance folks to run roughshod over most homeowners. If any of those folks neglected to buy flood insurance, they're screwed. I predict Texans will see the same nonsense about "acts of god" and water vs wind damage as the companies routinely stamp "declined" on insurance claims.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: PoppaGator
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 01:56 PM

Exclusion of flood coverage from standard homeowners' insurance is not peculiar to the the state of Texas ~ it's nationwide.

Flood insurance is federally subsidized and really quite cheap, and mortgage holders in areas known to be flood-prone are generally required by their lenders to buy it. I was covered for Katrina for that very reason, and was quite nicely compensated (although I had to wait six months for the check).

If your house note is paid off, or if you live outside of any "flood plain," you probably never thought to buy flood insurance, and if an unforeseen storm or dam-break or snow-melt, etc., hits you, no homeowners policy will compensate for your losses.

Those properties in Galveston are most likely covered by flood policies. However, a lot of homes further inland in Texas are going to flood, and very few of their owners will be covered.

Last week, Gustav caused widespread flooding in Alexandria, LA, way up in the center of the state. I seriously doubt that many folks up there ever bought flood insurance.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: kendall
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 02:08 PM

Global warming is a myth. Sure, take your meds, Bush.

I saw a reporter there pointing out a high rise building and saying, "Some people are taking 'refuse' in the 9th floor of this building." It's hard to find any humor in this sort of situation.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: pdq
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 02:09 PM

Flood insurance is separate from home-owner policies by government regulation. It seems only fair that people who choose to live in threatened areas should pay for their risk-taking. From early 2006 through late 2007, about 1 1/2 years, we had absolutely no measurable rain in the northen Nevada desert and never have floods.

Some people live high on bluffs overlooking flood-prone areas, but have not fear of flooding themselves. They may mave other risk to worry about, such as fire or landslide, and pay insurance for those problems, but not for flooding.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 02:36 PM

Flood insurance is different, it is a separate federal policy issued through your regular insurance provider. But you missed the point. I should have clarified by saying "Plus, I predict Texans will see the same nonsense about "acts of god" and water vs wind damage as the companies routinely stamp "declined" on insurance claims."

Flood insurance or not, the companies are going to find ways to deny claims by making up the rules as they go, usually by calling it something different than what it is. The wind may have started the damage but if the house is wet after the wind opens it up, they'll call it flood or water or act of god damage and you're declined. Or they'll find some way to deny wind damage. Or the tree that fell on your house was an excluded species. Whatever.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: mg
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 04:19 PM

No matter where you are, try and get it. Also earthquake. mg

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 05:53 PM

Southeastern Idaho. I can take in three or four.

No hurricanes, just the rare tornado, the occasional blizzard, and the ever-present threat of earthquakes and vulcanism (when Yellowstone blows).

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 02:11 AM

Ike wears itself out beating up on Texas

GALVESTON, Texas (CNN) -- Rescuers in Galveston, Texas, were going door-to-door Saturday to check on the estimated 20,000 people who failed to flee Hurricane Ike, which has slowed to tropical storm status.

As of Saturday afternoon, the Galveston Fire Department had taken 27 people to a shelter in a high school on the coastal island, which was without electricity or water pressure.

No casualties had been discovered so far in the search and rescue efforts, which have been hampered by heavy flooding and scattered debris.

Galveston had ordered evacuation of the island, but Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc said about 40 percent of the city's 57,523 residents chose to stay.

LeBlanc said the island would be closed while authorities assess damages, including to the causeway, which was in "bad shape" because of debris and road damage

"The road buckled in a number of places," LeBlanc said. "Even if we opened it up you couldn't get through."

LeBlanc said 17 buildings on the island had been destroyed by fires, potent winds and a strong storm surge.

"We are in a recovery mode," Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said in a press conference Saturday afternoon. "This eye came right over us, stayed a while and went on, but it brought a lot of damage to our city."

Ike was downgraded Saturday to a tropical storm 11 hours after it crashed ashore as a Texas-sized hurricane that walloped southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

In its wake, Ike -- which smashed into the coast as a Category 2 hurricane -- left four people dead, millions without power and destroyed homes and businesses along the Gulf Coast with powerful winds, rain and floodwaters.

President Bush declared 29 Texas counties and parts of Louisianans major disaster areas, making federal funds available for recovery from the storm.

Many people, like D.J. Knight of Pearlman, Texas, decided to ride out the storm at home, despite voluntary and mandatory orders issued across the region.

"The windows looked like they would explode," said Knight, a mother of two. "It just wouldn't stop."

Now, without electricity and surrounded by flooded roads and wreckage, Knight wonders whether it was worth enduring a sleepless night as the storm shook her home, located about halfway between Galveston and Houston.

"I didn't think it would be as bad as it was," she said. "It was horrible."

Knight is one of thousands waiting for assistance as the state rolls out the largest search and rescue operation in Texas history.

Read the rest here.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 07:14 AM

Oh, I see, IKE is mad at Bush.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Charley Noble
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 08:27 PM

If we do have members in the affected areas, they are too busy to post.

Looks to me as if extensive areas were and will remain devastated. In this case evacuation was a good order.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 09:03 PM

A lot of stubborn people didn't heed the call to evacuate and tried to stick it out. Now lots of others are risking their lives to rescue them. Those individuals who didn't leave should be charged for their rescues. They had adequate warning and for many of them, it was mandatory and they ignored it.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: PoppaGator
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 04:37 PM

CNN may have heasded their article "Ike wears itself out beating up on Texas," but Ike didn't wear out nearly as soon as most hurricanes.

The city of Cinncinati OH (!!!) suffered power outages over this past weekend thanks to tropical-storm-strength winds brought by the "remnants" of Ike. There was comparable damage/trouble in Louisville, St. Louis, and all over the US.

One of my coworkers just told us about some kind of problems in CHICAGO. That's way up north and way inland, far beyond the usual range of hurricane damage.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Bee
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 12:17 AM

There are some bad rumours floating around about places like Crystal Beach and Bolivar. I hope they aren't true, but if any 'catters are in the area and can post, sure wish they would.

Saw some footage of one of those places, Crystal Beach. What they showed was flat, except for one house, musta been built by Bobert or sompin'. Was standing looking untouched in the midst of scattered lumber and broken roofs.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 01:14 AM

That photo you describe was huge on the front page of this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Other photos. We don't seem to have a PDF of the front page or I could link to it for you.

I noticed in a couple of photos of evacuees that this time around, not only are pets being rescued, they're receiving a free microchip to make them easier to track while they're being cared for at the shelters here (in Fort Worth).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 07:43 PM

From what I read, many of those who stayed behind were elderly, had no family and no place to go.I can relate to that. Especially with visions of New Orleans still fresh. There are things worse than death.

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 07:51 PM

In situations like these, wouldn't it be best to contract with Amtrack and Greyhound and keep moving people north or west or wherever..a free or sliding scale ticket if they had family or a church group that would take them in? Reduce the strain on nearby shelters etc. mg

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: Sorcha
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 08:27 PM

Actually, I think some of the 'might' prefer death.....

Subject: RE: BS: Ike Shelter
From: PoppaGator
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 09:42 PM

New Orleans arranged free transporation for the indigent via Amtrak (to Memphis) or by bus (many destinations). Every place evacuees were sent had shelters set up ready for them. Much more together & better organized than three years ago, and just about everyone took advantage of it ~ about 20,000, if I recall correctly, in addition to the much larger number who drove themselves out of town without public assistance. The city, and indeed the entire region, was virtually empty for Gustav.

Some of the destination shelters were less well-prepared than others. There were a lot of very understandable complaints about the one in Shreveport, in particular ~ no indoor plumbing, not even port-a-lets! But most of the other shelters for the publically-evacuated seem to have been set up more than adequately.

Most of the folks who were evacuated by the authorities were unhappy about at least one thing: not being brought back home sooner. The people's unhappiness on this score is understandable, but the gov't stance is understandable, too. They had enough folks returning on their own dime before power was fully restored, etc., and understandably were not going to return the folks whose travel they could control until good and ready.

I feel pretty sure that folks in Galveston and that area were offered similar opportunities, and that those who insisted upon staying did so against very specific, personally-delivered advice, and at their own risk. I know that in coastal South Louisiana, cops and Guardsmen, etc., went door-to-door advising folks to get out, telling them that they might well die of they wouldn't obey ~ and I'm pretty sure that the same procedure was followed a week or so later in coastal Texas. (It's hard to sort out memories of all the reports I watched on TV and to remember which incident went with which storm and in which location.) Unfortunately, some folks just refuse to listen.

Not having experienced a worst-case scenario first-hand ~ as did many of poor folks of New Orleans ~ those Texan diehards were simply not scared enough to accept the free ride they were presumably offered, or to accept the limitations that would come with it: not being free to come back on their own schedule (assuming there would be anything to come back to, and that anyone would be allowed back very soon).