Notes on Ikealypse

Photos from the park in our neighborhood:






9/16/2008 4:48 PM: No power still.
9/14/2008 10:28 AM: The storm came onshore at 2AM Friday 9/12/08. The weather started getting bad Friday afternoon and got steadily worse. It is scary sitting through a Cat 2 hurricane!! We spent part of the evening in our powder room which is the only interior room without windows. Our house did ok, no real damage just a lot of downed branches, busted fence, and loss of power at 11PM on Friday. Reflections on the aftermath:
Low tech wins- battery operated stuff you need:
TV
Radio
Anything else you can find- a fan would be nice
Lots of batteries- AA and D in our case.
In our case the gas has stayed on so an old time brew coffee pot has kept us in coffee. If you partake in demon rum then stock up on your favorite.
Food- non perishable stuff is essential. Once the power goes out the food in refrigerator will go fast.
Generator- yes or no? Most don’t have one but those who do have smaller ones that don’t power air conditioning units. I will look more into this to see about getting one.
Cell phone service. We have ATT- neither voice or texting works very well. The usual American business model, over sell the product without the network to back it up. I am going to call AT&T to complain but you know you are screwed. On phone service, I have a landline through Comcast who is my internet provider which makes sense until you lose electricity and guess what, your landline becomes a nonline. Need to go back to the regular service and pay for dial up service.
Freeze bottled water so it helps to keep food frozen and then is drinkable after it defrosts.
What is the electric company’s plan to bring power back up? There are 5 million people without electricity. Many downed power poles, flooded streets, and poor communication to make the restoration effort even more challenging.
When the power goes out to your home it is also out to the stores and jobs. Seems like a no brainer but you don’t think of it until it happens.
People queuing up all over for ice, water, gasoline etc.
Evacuate? Buy a motor home and hit the road.

Where is FEMA or you are doing a great job Brownie? They have PODS (Points of Distribution) that will be the new buzz word which are supposed to distribute food, water etc to people but aren’t yet in place. And what about Houston? We have spent billions on highway projects none of which went to make the highways used for evacuation less flood prone. I-10 at 610, 288, and others are underwater and flooded the last time we had a storm Allison in 2001. Even though FEMA isn’t saying it that is one of the major problems with the distribution network.