The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 18, 2008 Page: 3 of 32
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THE CANADIAN RECORD
THURSDAY 1 B SEPTEMBER ZDDB
Ike strikes eoast leaving 2.8 million without power
Hurricane Ike struck the Gulf Coast early Saturday morning, flooding Galves-
ton Island, where it came ashore, and wreaking havoc across metropolitan Houston
and in many other communities along the coast. The Category 2 hurricane brought
wind gusts of 100 miles an hour, 12- to 15-foot waves and spanned 600 miles wide.
More than two million evacuated coastal areas of Texas and Louisiana before
the storm struck, but more than 100,000 remained behind to take their chances. By
midweek, at least fifty deaths had been reported in the United States—seventeen
of those in Texas—and more
than 3,500 rescues had been
performed by emergency offi-
cials. At midweek, the search
for victims and survivors was
continuing.
The largest power failure in
Texas' history has left 2.8 mil-
lion residents without power,
facing what officials say will
be a long, hot, dark wait before
restoration efforts are success-
ful. Crews from 31 states have
rushed to Texas and Louisiana
to help restore power in both
states, including28 Southwest-
ern Public Service Company
employees from the Lubbock
and Amarillo areas, and from
Roswell and Clovis in New
Mexico. Xcel Energy officials
estimate that rebuilding the
power grid n the Gulf Coast
area could take as much as four
to six weeks.
This week, Houston resi-
dents were without refrig-
erators, air conditioners, and
pumps to provide water pres-
sure for both drinking water
and for sewage plants, accord-
ng to The New York Times. As
a result, there were long lines
at the few gas stations with
power to run pumps, and huge
demand for ce at government food-distribution centers and in the few grocery
stores that remained open.
Power loss and flooding shut down several major oil refineries, sending gaso-
line prices soaring an average of 6-cents per gallon higher around the country. In
Texas, officials feared a gasoline shortage as refineries remained closed.
This photo was sent to The Record by Beth Ramp Sturgeon. They are of the remains of her
sister Susan's house in Seabrook, which has been totaled. Bob and Susan (Ramp) Wonacott live
on the water but not on stilts, unlike most of their neighbors. Seabrook is between Houston and
Galveston, close to NASA. The Wonacotts were allowed back nto their home yesterday, and
are working to salvage items today. Among them, Beth reports, are "her silverware, plates, etc
that have fallen thru the floor under the house, her clothes which were strewn all over the yard,
etc." The Wonacotts escaped on Friday morning with two vehicle loads of dogs, cats, a suit-
case each, a few wedding gifts—they were married on July 4th—her grandmother's paintings,
some other artwork, and miscellaneous valuables. According to Beth, "Susan says that it ap-
pears the water stood 4-5 foot deep, and the wave motion bowed the walls out. Britt [Sturgeon]
is on the way down there with a goose neck trailer to pick up whatever can be saved."
According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head R. Da-
vid Paulison, it is still too early to determine the full mpact of the storm. He urged
evacuees to remain where they are rather than attempt to return to their homes.
Victims attempting to return to their Galveston homes on Wednesday under
the City's announced "look and leave" policy faced hours of gridlocked traffic on
Interstate 45—the one route into Galveston Island—only to be turned away at the
bridge. The policy was rescinded hours later, but many residents ignored the order
to stay away.
Meanwhile, thousands of
residents who rode out the
storm are being urged to leave
because of growing concerns
that they face a health threat
there.
TD CONTRIBUTE TD
HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORTS:
The American Red Cross'
National Disaster Relief
Fund has been drained, and
recovery and relief efforts for
victims of both Hurricane
Gustav and Hurricane Ike
are being hampered. The relief
effort for Hurricane Gustav
alone is costing the Red Cross
$30-Jp0 million. The Red Cross
has thousands of staff on the
ground in Texas and Lousi-
ana offering food and shelter
to the millions of residents af-
fected by Hurricane Ike. All
American Red Cross disas-
ter assistance is free, made
possible by voluntary dona-
tions of time and money. The
American Red Cross honors
donor intent. If you wish to
designate your donation to a
specific disaster please do so
at the time of your donation.
Call 1-8QO-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disas-
ter Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the
American Red Cross, P. O. Box §!i|3, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can
make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
WHY DD THEY STAY...CDNTINUED
moment to hold him up as he is telling us it is doing.
In 2006, as a Tropical Storm was crossing the coast,
CNN told us that "at this very moment, this very dan-
gerous storm is crossing the Florida/Alabama line."
I went outside mmediately and walked around the
neighborhood. One guy was doing yard work. It was
cloudy, but not even raining! In any case, people sim-
ply aren't hearing the wolf cry any longer.
3) The government officials drastically exagger-
ate. Last week, the people of Galveston were told that
to stay meant "certain death." Think about this one.
They were not simply told that it could be incredibly
dangerous or that snakes are looking for a dry place
when the water comes up and that dry place might be
you. They were told, "If you stay, you will die." Certain
death. Sadly, some of the people who stayed did per-
ish, but not 140,000 of them! And it will be even tough-
er to get them to leave next time.
4) People simply can't afford to leave over and
over again. It costs money to leave. Shelters are full
to overflowing with the people who have no other op-
tions. Middle class families, on the other hand, buy gas
and restaurant food and stay in hotels six to ten hours
away to find that (see numbers 2 and 3 above). After
evacuating more than a couple of times, folks begin to
take their chances.
5) Many of us would not have lost our houses had
we stayed. Now look, I don't want to read a bunch of
letters to the editor about how irresponsible that last
sentence was. I am just stating a reality that has been
whispered from one hurricane ravaged town to anoth-
er over the last several years. After a storm strikes,
assuming the house is still there (and most are), the
people who deal with wet items immediately, often
save the majority of their possessions—including the
house itself.
In our case, we were not allowed back in for several
days. By the ti me we got there, everything was ruined
and there was no chance to dry anything out. Most of
t was sort of dry already.. with about a quarter inch
of fuzz growing on it. Unbelievably, many of us then
had to deal with an nsurance company that said we
had not done enough to take care of the items after
they had been drenched. So...maybe we should've
stayed?
Believe me, it runs through your mind.
Hey.. .we don't stay. We still evacuate if a storm
comes near and encourage others to do the same.
But it is a fact that Stan down the street stayed in his
house during Ivan. And everybody in my neighbor-
hood knows that Stan also stayed in his house during
the two years many of us rented multiple places to live
as we rebuilt our lives.
As I said, I could write a book... There are a mul-
titude of reasons and stories. These are by no means a
complete list. But for now, we'll stop here. And while I
am thinking about it, know that I'll write another ar-
ticle soon. In it, I promise to answer your next ques-
tion. ..
"Why in the world do you continue to live there?"
EDITOR'S NOTE: Andrews is a best-selling author
and an in-demand speaker. For more information,
go online to www.AndyAndrews.com.
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Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 18, 2008, newspaper, September 18, 2008; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252722/m1/3/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.