Posts Tagged hurricane
80 years old and starting over
80 years old and starting over, that was the sad reality of the facts. There was no denying that around 5 feet of flood water had gotten into the house and there was no denying that the couple did not have flood insurance. The hard wood flooring that everyone had liked so much, after the water went down the flooring swelled and split the walls. There was so much pressure generated from the swelling wood floors, that not only did the walls split, but some of them were pushed off the concert slab.
Having lived in Bridge City for most of their lives, neither the husband nor the wife had ever heard of the type of flooding that was on the way. Hurricane Ike was like a dark cloud in the distance, almost like a bad dream, but this dream was real. For decades Southeast Texas had avoided the critical strike of a major Hurricane.
In 1969, Hurricane Camille made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River.
In August of 1992, Hurricane Andrew was working its way towards Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. But the wind currents turned Andrew to the North, and Andrew Made landfall around Morgan City, Louisiana.
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the New Orleans area.
Hurricane Ike Aftermath
These pictures were taken in Bridge City, Texas after Hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston, Texas. Using Google Earth, and measuring from where these pictures were taken, its estimated that 20 miles inland, there was about a 14 – 15 foot storm surge. This is not a scientific measurement, its just an estimate.
How the storm surge was estimated – my parents house is is about 4 feet above sea level and they got over 9 feet of water in their house. This picture was taken 3 days after Hurricane Ike made landfall and the flood waters had receded about 7 – 8 feet.
Bridge City Texas Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Gustav – Part 1
As Hurricane Gustav approaches the coast of Louisiana and Texas, its time to start preparing. One of the first concerns is fuel for the generator. Gasoline is usually one of the first things to disappear, so its important to stock up while you can.
Even if your area is not directly affected by the disaster, if other people evacuate through your area, those people will clean out the gasoline supply. So if you live along a major (or minor) evacuation route, its important to stockpile fuel before the supply in your area dries up.
Instead of using 5 gallon gas cans, consider using 16 gallon drums. These are still movable by one person, but take the place of 3 – 5 gallon drums. The drums in the video held some type of syrup used for making DR. Pepper. These 16 gallon drums need to be bought in advance of any kind of disaster, washed out with soap and water to remove the syrup and allowed to dry.
Cooking considerations after a disaster
After a disaster such as a earthquake or hurricane, chances are the power is going to be cut off. From previous examples set by hurricanes Katrina, Andrew, Hugo and Rita – in some cases it could take weeks or months to rebuild the power lines. Its during this time that a simple hot meal can really boost the moral of the group. Just for the sake of discussion, “Group” is defined as friends, family or neighbors.
Some people of the community are ill prepared to cook without a power source, while others may be able to cook for a few days with no power. It is the job of the survivalist to make sure that they have the means to cook for not only your family, but for the neighbors. This can be a daunting task, but with a little planning it can be done.
What to expect from the Red Cross
After Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans, a summer camp in east texas took in about 400 evacuees. The camp in question was used during the summer by several of the local churches for religious and non-religious based events. When hurricane Katrina struck, the camp was closed for the winter – no church or religious services were planned for at least 8 – 9 months, or when the local schools were closed for summer vacation. The camp was set up very well to take in evacuees, there was a full kitchen with a dinning area that could feed several hundred people at one time, dormitories with bunk beds, activity areas, full bathroom facilities and even a first aid station.
Because this summer camp was religious based, one red cross worker kept throwing fits. It seems that some of the buildings that were being used as check in points, food distribution and to house these people has Christian symbols in them – such as the cross. Even though the summer camp was closed to the public and for the winter and there were no religious events planned, this red cross guy kept throwing religion up. The people that owned the camp finally asked that