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Hurricane Rita Blog / Watch (4)

by Michael

Posted 09/23/05 00:37

Let's not forget Galveston

105 years ago, Galveston experienced the worst natural desaster in US history. 8000 people died from a hurricane. At that time there was no satelite thus no prewarning. Galveston's population at that time was 200,000 when Houston's was merely 50,000. No one evacuated from Galveston.

Therefore, we should pay attention to Hurricanes. But,

At the same time, let's not forget New Orleans and Katrina

Katrina hit New Orleans slightly to the right, about 15-30 miles East side of New Orleans. As a result, the majority of New Orleans were on the good side of Katrina. There wasn't much wind damage to New Orleans houses or buildings. Most house and building damages were on Katrina's right side near Missisippi.

The real problem New Orleans had was when the levee broke that flooded New Orleans.

Houston is no New Orleans. We don't have levees. We are 50 feet above sea level.

Therefore, if Katrina is of any guidance, we - where we are - should be alright with Rita as long as Rita stays the course.

Of course to some people, they are still afraid of the uncertainty. What if Rita shifts again in the last minute? What if Rita stays on top of Houston for an extended period of time and floods Houston?

These are all possibilities. However, as long as there is no significant wind damage, we should be okay. So I decided to stay.

If one wants to get out, now is the best time to do it.

by Michael

Posted 09/23/05 00:42

I continued to prep the house for the storm. I moved all the items away from the window. Now we are anticipating wind from the Northeast direction, that corner would be the worst corner.

Which spot in the house is the safest?

Well, how about the center of the house?

How about the Southwest corner of the house?

Should I open the door/windows sometimes to let the pressure inside the house to equilibrate with the outside? Outside pressure will be lower than inside the house. Could that be the cause for broken window?

by Michael

Posted 09/23/05 00:43

With that said I am going to take a good sleep now and get ready for tomorrow.

According to the weather man, the storm will show up in Houston at 9pm tomorrow night.

by Michael

Posted 09/23/05 00:49

From this pic of 11:30pm, you can see the center of the storm is still clearly on the east side of Houston.

by whenAMDmeetsINTEL

Posted 09/23/05 01:09

another issue remarkable during nature disaster is the neighbourhood security. I bet police and fire department officer will be busy at downtown or along freeways. 911 will be hot for injury and disables. make constant contact with people live around your home is prefered. NOT thinking the dark side, but self-protection is a always a must.

bo

by Michael

Posted 09/23/05 08:12

I woke up at 4:40am this morning, checked the pathway for Rita on TV and online. Rita's path stayed course as projected to land in Port Arthur area on east side of Houston. So we should be okay.

At this hour, the latest projection by Hurricane Center remains the same at 8am. With each hour goes by, the chance for Rita to shift westward toward us gets smaller. Right now the chance for Rita to land on Port Authur or its further east is 31%.

I didn't have any protection to the windows. All the windows are tinted with film inside so they have some protection. I am thinking going to the office to retrieve some wide tapes that we use to wrap around pellets to cover the windows from the outside. I don't know if that helps to protect the windows.

Just from the news: 20 people died from a bus that caught on fire in Dallas. These are people who evacuated from City of Bellaire, which is almost in the middle of Houston (city within a city). Obviously, these people escaped Rita but didn't escape their fate.

by Michael

Posted 09/23/05 08:14

Most of our friends left town yesterday. They should have got to their destinations relatively quickly since the traffic opens up. According to the latest Houston traffic map, the entire city's freeways are now wide open.

One of them just called. They arrived in Austin after 7 hours - double the normal time needed. That is allot better than 14 hours before.

I can see that the wind is slightly blowing from the Northside. That is the direction of wind we want. It confirms that we'll experience only the return wind, which should be no more than 80mph.

I just need to strengthen our windows facing North. I have a wood picnic table in the backyard. I should tied it up with a rope in case it gets blown onto the house.

by [HS]Chilly

Posted 09/23/05 09:03

This maybe the last chance I get to wish you the best Michael before Rita hits. Good luck and take care on behalf of the Hardware Squad our thoughts will be with you.

by JClimbs Copyright (c) Directron.com 09/23/05 10:23

Our prayers are with you guys! If you have cardboard, you can tape that over your windows. The major aim is to prevent injury from flying glass, not so much prevent the windows from breaking. From the sounds of it, trying to get out of town is futile, pick the safest haven cushion it well and hang on!

by JClimbs

Posted 09/23/05 12:24

It's encouraging to see the path of this thing shift further east - not that I wish anything bad on Beaumont/Port Aurther.

I've noticed the winds are down to 135 and the pressure's dropping. With the next advisory it should be a category 3.

Cross your fingers!

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 12:50

Bad news to report

I went to the office this morning to pick up a long ladder to trim the tall palm tree. I noticed that the reflect on our front door looked strange. So I drove to the front parking area to check it out. The right side of the door is broken! Long before Hurricane Rita's arrival.

At first I thought it was damaged by gun shots. After closer examination, it looks like someone may have kicked the door. Someone may have tried to break in. I am glad that we boarded the front door from the inside.

This is a man-made damage; not a natural one yet.

Long before Hurricane Rita's arrival, Directron.com Office front door, a man-made damage; not a natural one yet.

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 12:56

Don't worry, we'll fix the door quickly. Peter will be guarding the buidling with many others starting this afternoon. He'll carry guns and two dogs.

I saw his dog cages in the office already. These are huge cages. I wonder how big his dogs will be. We'll see those later.

Where the cages are is actually one of our new tech room for PC repairs. Now, we are really mixing computers with cats and dogs.

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, Directron.com really mixing computers with cats and dogs.

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 13:04

Houston is really a ghost town now. Almost no cars on the freeways either way. If people want to drive to San Antonio or Austin, they can probably get there without any traffic now. And Rita is still 8 hours away!!!

People do panic. Don't they? I guess those who did reach those destinations are enjoying the mall, the movie theaters, the nice restaurants... Good for them. I'll just pull some magazines to read to watch this storm.

This is the same spot on 59 South that was packed with cars and trucks yesterday. Notice the abandoned mini van? I wonder where that van's owners are. I wish them well.

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, a mini van on 59 South

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 13:12

Want to see a house that is boarded by playwood? This house was boarded on Wednesday night. They did such a wonderful job. Look at all those boards that were cut to the exact shape of the window. They must have some good contractor relatives, friends, or something.

What is amazing is that Home Depot in Sugar Land is still open today. I saw a long line there on the way home earlier. However, even if I bought the boards I would not have the power tools to customize the board sizes and shapes to fit all the windows. Plus, I won't have ladder long enough to reach the upstair windows. And I am not strong enough to do all the labor work.

Hey, I am a PC modder, not a house modder.

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, a house boarded on Wednesday

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 13:17

Well, perhaps, I can be a good tree modder.

These are our palm trees in the backyard. Our neighbor's house is the background. This picture was taken around 10am this morning. Isn't it a gorgeous day? Look at the blue sky!!!

You can see the leaves being blown by the wind slightly.

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, our palm trees in the backyard

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 13:20

I don't want the trees to fall onto our neighor's house. so I got the long ladder from our warehouse to trim the dead leaves.

You can now see the cloudy sky at around 12noon here. Most of the dead leaves are gone.

Well, something I CAN do. ilrie

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, I got the long ladder from our warehouse to trim the dead leaves.

Now you can see the wind is really blowing. The sky is covered with cloud.

Hopefully my work on the leaves can help saving the trees.

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, after fix the tree

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 13:29

Well, let's try to be creative. I brought back a roll of pellet seal tape. We mount them on the windows facing the Northeast with them. These films stick to the window without glues, making them easier to remove after the storm.

I don't know whether these films will help holding the glasses against the wind; but I would think they have at least two benefits:

(1) The film on the outside of the glass would minimize damage to the glass if a relatively light flying object hits the glass.

(2) In case the glass breaks, the film outside and the tinting film inside would hold the glass to prevent water coming into the house.

We'll see how my "creative minds" work this time tonight.

These films are not easy to work with. My whole family had to work as a team to get them put on. Hey, this is a good time to teach the kids the concept of "team work."

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, a good time to teach the kids the concept of

Michael

Posted 09/23/05 13:32

Talking about being creative, Juani was very creative to put these boards up against the front door. Good job! He may have saved more damage from that unwanted visitor last night.

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, Juani was very creative to put these boards up against the front door.

Our office has been leak proof since Wednesday. This is the purchasing department

Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, the purchasing department

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