Hurricane Ike? September 11, 2008 4:37 PM   Subscribe

Well, hell. Ike looks like it's going to be bad one. If any MeFites in the Houston/Galveston area find gas and find their way up I-45, we have a guest bed and a couch to spare if you need to crash for a few.

Caveats: we do have a 48 lb. dog that sheds, so if you have animal-related allergies, well, it exists. Also, she's not overly friendly with other dogs (some, yes) or cats, but it can be worked around, especially if you don't mind crating them for a few days (and have your own crates). She's great with people, though.

It also looks likely that we'll get some wind/rain up here in Dallas, but it shouldn't be anything fierce.

Anyone else with a couch/spare bed to offer in the TX region is welcome to post their info here as well.
posted by Ufez Jones to MetaFilter-Related at 4:37 PM (35 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite

I'm also in Dallas, with plenty of room. I was in Houston for Rita, so I know how it is. I only have a few Houston friends near enough to the coast to evacuate this time, and they're going elsewhere, but if anyone here needs somewhere to go, let me know. East Dallas, walking distance to lots of fun things to do.
posted by bwanabetty at 5:04 PM on September 11, 2008


My partner and I are staying home here in west Pearland, right off the Houston Beltway and 288. We're not in a storm surge zone so we're "sheltering in place," as they say. I'm posting updates when I have time to my blog. So far we're doing much better than in RIta, when we evacuated from Galveston.
posted by Robert Angelo at 5:31 PM on September 11, 2008


Ufez & bwanabetty: You guys are fucking awesome. Thank you on behalf of someone who's too stupid to ever evacuate.
posted by ColdChef at 5:37 PM on September 11, 2008


Add me to the stupid and "hunkering down" list. I'm far west near Katy, so major flooding won't be an issue here. Just the howling wind and the shit that my dumbfuck neighbors still haven't seen fit to take off their porches yet. If I wake up Sunday morning and have a terra cotta pot through my car's windshield, someone is getting punched in the dick.

But thanks. I'll buy you both a beer the next time I'm in Dallas for offering.
posted by Cyrano at 6:06 PM on September 11, 2008 [1 favorite]


And by Sunday I meant Saturday. I'M PAYING ATTENTION! REALLY!!!
posted by Cyrano at 6:08 PM on September 11, 2008


We're riding this one out in south Houston as well.

If we still have power, I will totally be playing "Rock You Like A Hurricane" on Guitar Hero while the storm rages outside.
posted by chrisamiller at 6:40 PM on September 11, 2008


I'll be working in the med center. My shift starts tomorrow at 6:30AM and ends when the storm does as part of the "Ride-Out" (the storm) team. The med center is a site to see. There are these huge metal flood gates that will block all of the hospital entrances if flooding starts. They were put in after Tropical Storm Allison. It will be an experience.

Thanks so much for your generosity Ufez and bwanabetty! I wish I could take you up on it instead of hanging out amongst it all. Now I must pack for work. Good thing though is I think my little honda scooter will be better off parked on the upper floors of a cement garage then in my driveway at home.

I'm also glad that the 4 story townhouses under construction next to my bungalow in the Montrose took down their scaffolding today. I worried that I'd come home form work to a pin cushion next Monday.

Stay safe everybody!
posted by dog food sugar at 6:43 PM on September 11, 2008


Staying put here on the north side. Hopefully it won't be too bad. If power holds out, I'll post some updates here.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:51 PM on September 11, 2008


We're staying home here on the southwest side and hoping for the best. Thanks so much bwanabetty and Ufez :-)

Take care of yourselves everybody!
posted by Mamapotomus at 8:10 PM on September 11, 2008


Another MeFite who's staying put in NW Harris County (Spring). Thanks for offering your hospitality, Ufez and bwanabetty. (See? This is why I so love this community.)
posted by heathergirl at 8:27 PM on September 11, 2008


Right on, kiddos. I'm about to crash out (I just got back into town after a family vacation late last night and I'm still kind of wiped), but my offer stands for anyone looking for a place to be. MeFi mail or e-mail (in profile).

You folks that are hunkering down, be safe and check in when you can, eh?
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:47 PM on September 11, 2008


Man, this stuff warms my heart. Good work, people.
posted by vytae at 8:50 PM on September 11, 2008


You guys and your...your...compassion. It's denting my bitter hatred for humankind. Quit it!
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:32 PM on September 11, 2008


We're in Austin and have a couple of couches, sleeping bags, and much floor space.

We're also glad to just provide a warm meal or two if anyone's in need. Hauling out some games or putting on some movies to relieve the worry is also a possibility.

Note: we're not the best place for those allergic to cats.

There's a ton of contact info in my profile, but you may find MeFiMail the easiest.
posted by batmonkey at 10:43 PM on September 11, 2008


I'd like to encourage everyone to read Eric Berger's SciGuy blog as it's a warm fuzzy and rational counter to all the, quite frankly, overly hysterical, overly hyped tropical storm updates most major media outlets have fed us since at least hurricane Katrina.

Also, please think good thought for the folks in Galveston and low lying areas northeast of there. They're going to get a surge, and a pretty bad one. Up here in Houston, though, the vast majority of the city is not going to be floating away or blown away or anything else-awayed. This map will be most useful to you.

Also? Since the city's pretty much going to be shut down tomorrow regardless, I'm playing my Wrath of the Lich King Beta (for which I have a key and you most likely so totally DO NOT so I rock you like a hurricane) until the power goes off. Then it's board games and pb&j's and twittering from my phone til normality is restored.

Thanks for the offers of nice places to stay, though. Ufez and all y'all are great.
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:18 PM on September 11, 2008


"Hunkering Down" near Gessner/Westheimer (77063) here.
posted by mrbill at 11:24 PM on September 11, 2008


not that this will do much good now, but if anyone is on the road & wants to hang out in new orleans, i have room for a small family. still in post-katrina renovation stage, so it's a bit primitive but i expect we'll only have spotty power outages from the winds & i'm above flood surge level. i hope. memail me w/a phone number & i'll give you directions to my place.

stay safe everyone!
posted by msconduct at 3:49 AM on September 12, 2008


oh. two cat household here, so not the best for those who are allergic but i can most likely find pet-free accommodations for up to two people who don't need the aggravation of itching & sneezing on top of an evacuation.
posted by msconduct at 4:00 AM on September 12, 2008


I have no beta key. :( (Speaking of which, anyone interested in starting a mefi guild for wotlk?)

Also, the scary thing about this storm is the storm surge. Ike has more kinetic energy than any other hurricane in the last 40 years. It's spread out over a huge area, though, and as a result the winds at any given location are not terribly bad. However, the huge windfield is generating a gigantic storm surge. Galveston is already seeing significant surge with the storm more than 200 miles out, and many are predicting that the entire island will be underwater.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:48 AM on September 12, 2008


If the irony of evacuating to New Orleans for a hurricane isn't too mind blowing, I've got an amazingly comfortable couch that is just above sea level. Just drop me a line.

Good luck, folks.
posted by gordie at 7:47 AM on September 12, 2008


Speaking of which, anyone interested in starting a mefi guild for wotlk?

I think we tried that once before, but I'd already established myself on another server. Can't remember if you're in Houston, m_b, but there is a Houston-based guild that I'm enjoying playing with tremendously.

It looks like it's getting worse and worse for Galveston, almost 1900 level of damage from storm surge, said storm still the worst storm in this country's history in terms of life lost. My great-grandmother survived it only because she had typhoid fever at the time and was hospitalized on higher ground.

Looks like the eye is now going to pass directly over downtown Houston. I'm in SW Houston, and for here max sustained winds for my zip code have gone up from 68 mph to 78 overnight. Biggest concern is going to be tree limbs snapping and falling on homes and power lines rather than direct damage to homes or major flooding. Despite the massive amounts of water that can fall on this city, stuff drains amazingly fast. Over on the other side of town (and that's a ways away, metro Houston is 600 square miles in size), the "dirty" side of the storm, things could be worse. And downtown Houston has lovely modern skyscrapers ... with lots and lots of glass windows.
posted by WolfDaddy at 8:21 AM on September 12, 2008


In Austin. With dogs. Always welcome. I won't have internet access over the weekend, so if anyone wants to exchange other contact info I'm down with that. Also would be willing to make a mercy relief supply run after the event. dog food sugar, take good care of all the people and don't forget yourself!
posted by green herring at 8:24 AM on September 12, 2008


Some areas outside New Orleans are already seeing Ike-related surge effects.

Good luck and godspeed, everyone. My thoughts are with you.
posted by rtha at 1:14 PM on September 12, 2008


If anyone is still able to evacuate and needs something closer than Dallas, we have Reed Arena open here in Aggieland for evacuees. The animal shelter also has pet housing, as does the horse center for large livestock ($17 flat fee per head there).

Hopefully we won't get hit very bad, and even the worst will be better than Houston's getting. I've been pulling shifts with the National Guard here, so if you do come, let me know and I'll look for you. The wind is just now starting to pick up a little....
posted by internet!Hannah at 5:44 PM on September 12, 2008


How is everyone in Houston holding up so far? WolfDaddy lost power around and hour and a half ago. He says the wind is gusting pretty hard.
posted by ColdChef at 7:50 PM on September 12, 2008


Pretty good wind gusts here, a few miles south of downtown. A few branches down. We still have power, thankfully, but reports are that lots of people are already without. Rain is just starting to sprinkle.

Things won't really get bad in this part of town until the early morning, around 4am. Those in flood zones are already feeling it, as the storm surge moves up the bay and into the bayous around here.
posted by chrisamiller at 8:42 PM on September 12, 2008


In the Hill Country about a hour from Austin...have spare bedroom and a couch. Kingsland
Only Geiger in book,
posted by bjgeiger at 9:58 PM on September 12, 2008


No power. A bit hungover. But otherwise I'm fine :)
posted by Cyrano at 8:31 AM on September 13, 2008


hey ... here's hoping everyone is safe & well & that the power comes back on soon. offer still stands for a place to crash in new orleans for anyone who wants to get away (or can't go back for a while). my place is humble but the offer is genuine.
posted by msconduct at 6:40 PM on September 13, 2008


Well, the power is still out in a lot of areas down south. The great grandparents house has been...well, not destroyed, but certainly isn't livable. I can only imagine that there's a lot of other people in the same boat.

Here's another offer of couch space for anyone who finds themselves needing shelter while the rebuilding begins. We've got dogs, cats and kids...but on the up side, I'm a great cook, and I'm really not too much of a bitch after my second cup of coffee.
posted by dejah420 at 12:10 PM on September 14, 2008


Made it unscathed, unlike some friends and business associates. At tenants/friend's house right now whose power was restored about 8 AM and I'm just about ready to collapse in exhaustion. I'll put some pictures up after a nap. Thanks everyone for your concern and generosity. It's really quite heartwarming.
posted by WolfDaddy at 2:14 PM on September 14, 2008


Mr. Bill's neighbor here, he's fine and has a generator. We stayed through the storm and last night, but the flooding this morning was just too damn much of a drag and we headed for Austin until the power comes back on in a few days/weeks. Getting out of town was as much an adventure as the hurricane.

What we saw on the way out: LOTS and LOTS of homes and cars damaged by trees, way too much water, and healthy but irritable people walking/driving around looking for ice and bottled water. We should count our blessings, so few people were actually hurt or killed - but it's still a major pain in the ass.
posted by pomegranate at 4:10 PM on September 14, 2008


House is mostly fine, family is fine, still no power :-( It's amazing to see my city so affected by this; I really didn't think it would be this bad. At least the weather has turned cooler so the lack of AC isn't so terrible.
posted by Mamapotomus at 6:40 AM on September 17, 2008


One small leak in the apt roof, and we're still without power (105 hours and counting), but we're fine. Cleanup is still ongoing, and the lines for gas and ice are still ridiculous. The grid is slowly coming back, and we're hoping to be up in the next day or two.
posted by chrisamiller at 10:09 AM on September 17, 2008


Power finally came back on today (after more than a week) in 77063 (Tanglewilde; Gessner/Westheimer) around 1:15pm, after crews worked for the past two days in this area. The hard-working linemen from NY and Quebec and tree crews from CT have been working 16-hour shifts to get us back up and running; we simply can't thank them enough.
posted by mrbill at 12:07 PM on September 20, 2008


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