Gulf Coast TE Folks

[Blueberry]

Are you guys packing up and leaving?? Check in and let us know you're OK!!

bmccasland???

CA

[Tuckervill]

Yes, I'm sending some cool Gulf water vibes out to Gustav, and hope he gets the hint and goes away!

Karen

[Aggie_Ama]

The sad thing is inland Texas needs the rain but in no way need a Cat 5 hurricane to bring it in. If it hits that big it comes to us as a tropical storm or even a small huricane. :( I have no clue where it is headed since it changes from New Orleans to East Texas daily.

My husband's college roommate is a vet in Beaumont, haven't heard if he is out of dodge yet. They didn't stay for Rita, so I am sure he is evacuating.

Hopefully Beth will check in and maybe Gustav will weaken before making landfall. Good vibes to all the Gulf Coasters!

[Mr. Bloom]

Who are out New Orleans members besides Beth (bmccasland)?

Best wishes to all impacted.

Also, keep in mind that everything to the east and northeast will be profoundly impacted with rain, flooding, and tornados...even before landfall.

Silver's parents live in Gulf Shores Alabama in an east facing house. The constant easterly wind actually blows the water through the wood pores in the front doors!

Everyone stay safe and be careful

[Meaux]

I love Gulf Shores! We were just there in June.

We're going to stick it out, but we are far enough from the coast that I think we'll be okay. And the current track of the storm is to hit New Orleans, not Houston. I will probably by some canned food and water in case it takes a turn to the west and we end up losing power.

I'll have the folks east of us in my thoughts and prayers.

[firenze11]

I'm sending out good wishes for our Gulf Coast folks as well. Hoping you're all on your way somewhere safe and sound and get there without problems.

[sundial]

I'm keeping everyone in my prayers.

[LBTC]

Surrounding the whole city of New Orleans, the whole coastline of the gulf in butterflies. Special ones for Beth, all the TEers in the area, and all family of TEers. May everyone person, every fur-baby find a safe place from the storm. And may the storm lose its power and fizzle into something with little impact. A girl can hope, right?

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[vinbek]

I was raised in Jackson, Mississippi and spent my summers in Gulf Shores. This was 30+ years ago! It was beautiful back then. Then Hurricane Camille hit in 1968 and its never been the same. I lived in New Orleans in the early 70's and used to ride my bike from Metairie to the French Quarter on the levees. I hope this hurricane is downgraded. I have lots of family and friends that live along the Gulf Coast including my parents and a sister. In the late 80's I lived in Winston-Salem, NC and when Hurricane Hugo hit South Carolina, the high winds came that far inland and destoyed my neighborhood with high winds, flooding and took the roof off my house. these things can move inland for 100s of miles and create havoc. Take care everyone and stay safe. Bekki

[Red Rock]

Wishing all TEers and families safe travels to get out of the storms way. May you be safe for the next week or so. Hoping to that the storm decreases in strength for both Texas and Coastal cities.

Be Safe

Red Rock

[SheFly]

Stay safe, Beth! I have been away from the news, and just heard about the evac. I hope that you and your family are safe and out of harm's way. Please let us know if there is anything that you need.

SheFly

[tygab]

stay safe everyone, we are thinking of you...

[Aggie_Ama]

Looks like he weakened but the storm surge hadn't happened so it is a waiting game. Prayers and warm thoughts to Louisiana and East Texas!

[sundial]

Anyone hear from Beth? My thoughts and prayers are with you all and your families.

[SouthernBelle]

Yes, I'm glad to see that it's been downgraded. I hope this is the worst they get this season or for many to come.

[bmccasland]

Lets see, where to start. I had a stomach bug, which pretty much ruined my weekend, and then there was this wind and rain thing... We cavalierely thought it really wouldn't be that bad, all the predictions had the storm hitting the central coast, then going NW. And by the time I could actually make a logical decision about evacuating, I was in no shape to drive very far, I couldn't stay vertical for more than 1/2 an hour. So I policed the yard, rolled down the storm shutter, and went to bed. And yes, I slept through most of a hurricane. Lost power this morning around 8:30, would read, listen to the radio, drink water, and nap. Oh, and I obeyed the demands of furry beasts to feed them. And they helped me nap.

Around 5 pm, I noticed my porch light was on - ELECTRICITY! Closed the windows, turned on the a/c, and started resetting things.

I lost one piece of soffit - found it, and tucked it behind the shrubs, my rusty gazebo is still standing (has multiple guy-lines :rolleyes:), some branches down. Basically some very minor damage.

We're still supposed to get rain as the southerly winds come up from the Gulf, and it's still pretty windy out.

Thank you for the good juju, butterflies, and sending the DRY northern winds that sheered the west side of the storm off. I think it was only a Cat 2 when it came on shore.

The northern part of Louisiana and east Texas are about to get hit hard.

My office is closed for the next couple of days while the powers that be assess damage and make assignments. And maybe this time the owner of the breached levee in Plaquemines Parish won't argue when we want to fix it. After Katrina we (Uncle Sam) had the authorization and funding to repair all the levees in the area, federal, local, and private. One owner fought us tooth and nail.... Who would turn down FREE repairs? At least the press states that it's a private levee - what they haven't said is that the levee is a pump and drain levee, and not a hurricane levee. An 8 ft levee won't hold much back. grrrr

OK, calm thoughts, LBTC's happy butterflies flitting about in the light breeze...:)

And since my garage flooded in Katrina, I rolled my two new bikes (post-K) into the guest bedroom, so their pretty little tires would stay dry. I do have some of my priorities right. :D One bike I bought when I was evacuated, my Breezer; and the other survived the flood in the attic of a bike shop, my Specialized. So neither bike suffered the indignity of being flooded, and I plan to keep it that way. And once the wind stops blowing, I'll take them out to play. Maybe tomorrow, if it isn't raining....

[Blueberry]

Yay!!!!! Glad you're OK (and all things considered, glad you stayed put). Sorry about the stomach bug, though.

CA

[LBTC]

Oh, Beth! Thank you for checking in! I am so glad you and your critters are fine and that your house didn't do too badly also!! Sorry about the tummy bug, but I guess these things happen.

I had no idea that any of the levees were private. That kind of explains a lot.

Hugs and butterflies,

~T~

[jesvetmed]

Glad to hear things didn't go as predicted and that everyone seems unharmed (other than gastro-intestinally!) Stay safe down there!

[Aggie_Ama]

That doesn't sound like the hurricane party my friend from Florida used to describe! :) Glad you are okay other than the stomach bug.

[firenze11]

Good to hear you're ok. It sounds like quite an experience with the stomach bug and all! Hope you feel better soon.

[OakLeaf]

Thanks for checking in Beth - so glad you're okay!

[sundial]

Beth, it's nice to see you back on the board. Hope you feel better today and I'm thankful that the storm wasn't worse. Oh, and that your house isn't damaged on top of everything else.

[Mr. Bloom]

Yippee! Sleeping through a hurricane...what a deal!

[Running Mommy]

So glad you checked in Beth! I was thinking about you and the Silvers' family in gulf shores.
I have a special place in my heart for the gulf shores area.

[Mr. Bloom]

Silver's family is fine in Gulf Shores. I got them out of bed at 5:30AM when I saw a tornado in the area on weather.com, but it doesn't seem there was any serious damage.

Now maybe Indiana will get a little benefit from the desparately needed rain.

[bmccasland]

Silver - glad to hear your family is doing fine in Gulf Shores. Hope they got through yesterday's rain storms OK. We had more wind on monday, then all the rain yesterday. I noticed the water was stacking in the street, so I rode my Breezer over to the canal, and yup, it was to the top. The local pumps can only deal with 1 inch / hour of rain fall, and we had more like 3 inches in an hour. The ground is definitely saturated.

Lovely topic 2, I think my stomach has forgiven me.

Topic 3 - much of this area is still without power. Apparently the big transmission lines took a big hit. Saw a press briefing last night, of the 14 lines, all were damaged, and only 1 is back up. I am very thankful for that 1. My office remains closed until next monday.

I miss my morning paper. Reading it on line isn't the same thing. + no funnies. No mail service either.

Have to clean gutters today. Noticed some weren't draining very much during the deluges yesterday. Must be clogged with leaves and twigs the winds blew off.

[sundial]

We're getting the rain here now and I can't seem to wake up for the cloudy skies and rain. I'm hoping no tornados pop up. Beth, if you ever need to vacate to the north, come see us. :)

[Trek420]

Thanks for checking in Beth. I am glad you are ok. :D