Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

Look, I get that a complete hardening of the electrical infrastructure against hurricanes would be very expensive, probably more than it would be worth in savings. We don’t have enough hurricanes around here to make it worthwhile, as it was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

That’s a lot of debris. If Ike were a football team, how many fields would it fill? According to Coach — er, Mayor — Bill White, the storm would cover 390 football fields with debris stacked 6 feet high. White … Continue reading → Continue reading →

They’re going to try to make voting as normal as possible in Galveston. I don’t know how successful they’ll be, but they’re going to try. With several polling locations in the southern portion of Galveston County heavily damaged by Hurricane … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Julie talks about what life is like after Ike in her hometown of Seabrook, and tells of a little way in which we can help: Kids are helping kids with Operation CRAYON. This is assistance for kids from pre-kindergarten through … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Among the many questions being asked post-Ike are those about whether CenterPoint met its requirements for maintaining trees near power lines. Hugh Rice Kelly, a former chairman of Trees for Houston and former general counsel for CenterPoint’s predecessor, Houston Light … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’ve heard of the possibility that thousands of people may be missing after Hurricane Ike, with some unknown number of them perhaps having been swept out to sea, never to be found. The good news is that far fewer people … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Sunday is the new magic target date for those who still don’t have power. As long as you understand that it’s just a day, and setting it as a magic target date doesn’t actually mean anything. CenterPoint finished work Friday … Continue reading → Continue reading →

CenterPoint is feeling the heat from the 449,000 customers who are still without power, nearly two weeks after Ike. Tom Standish, CenterPoint Energy’s group president of regional operations, said in a conference call with Chronicle reporters that crews will be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The man is consistent, I’ll say that much for him. Some Galveston officials aren’t too pleased with their Congressional representative, Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, for voting against the $22.8 billion disaster recovery aid package on Wednesday. “That’s sad. That’s bad,” … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Time to make sure your Irony-o-Meter is fully calibrated. Hurricane Ike’s destruction is sparking one of the largest rebuilding efforts the state has seen in decades, but at the same time is highlighting a thorny facet of the region’s labor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If you’re a CenterPoint customer and you’re still without power, the utility says don’t rely on their ZIP code map to tell when you’ll get it back. Last week CenterPoint issued a map and timetable projecting that 80 percent of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Wow. Texas will need $20 billion to $40 billion in federal relief assistance to overcome uninsured damage inflicted by Hurricane Ike, Houston Mayor Bill White said today. The mayor, speaking to the Houston Chronicle before his congressional testimony, said Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One of the easily visible effects of Hurricane Ike is a lot of torn-down billboards. Looks like many of them may not go back up. For billboards, the city ordinance says that if the cost of repairing the weather damage … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So yesterday, the Chron had a front-page story that raised the point that since Hurricane Rita, Texas has done nothing to require utility companies to improve their infrastructure, as Florida did after Hurricane Wilma. Doing so might have mitigated some … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Somebody here is unclear on the concept. Hurricane Rita slammed into the Texas coast three years ago this week, crumpling transmission towers, toppling utility poles and leaving consumers in the dark for up to three weeks. State regulators responded to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I think the only rational response to this is “AAAAAAAAAAUGH!” The Caribbean tropical wave has improved its organization this morning and it now seems somewhat more likely the system may eventually become Tropical Storm Kyle, the season’s 11th named storm. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’ve talked before about the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, and the possible calamitous effects that a storm like Ike could have on its finances. Looks like we’ll be still talking about it for some time. Rates for the thousands of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s the latest map (PDF), via the Chron, of CenterPoint’s estimated restoration dates for various locations in Harris County. About half their area is still without power, and it looks like a nontrivial number of folks will still be without … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is a big problem. [T]his year’s succession of disasters has overwhelmed donors, nonprofit leaders believe. Additionally, people are holding on tighter to their money because of the uncertain economy. Bush asked for contributions to the American Red Cross in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We made it back to Houston last night without incident, and I am going to brave the streets to go to the office for at least a few hours. Technically, I don’t have to – it’s closed for anyone who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s been wondering what happened to all those people who stayed behind in Galveston during Ike. As the hurricane closed in, authorities estimated that 90,000 people ignored evacuation orders along the Gulf Coast. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following photo was taken by Kenneth Fair: Kenneth writes in his caption: “This view is from the south, showing the southwest and southeast sides of the building. The topmost missing window is on the 47th floor. From about the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Julie, who lives in a flood surge zone, has a question: I live by quite a few superfund sites—chemical and manufacturing plants. In fact, my area is home to “the nation’s largest concentration of chemical plants and refineries,” many of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Paul Burka will be flying over Galveston today. He has a report on the scene via a phone conversation with Galveston’s State Rep. Craig Eiland: Behind the seawall, the worst damage was from flooding north of Broadway. Galveston floods from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mayor White says we need ice. One of the biggest problems Houston faces in the wake of Hurricane Ike is a shortage of ice, Mayor Bill White said today, pledging to seek assistance from all possible sources, both private and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s really hard reading this story about Galveston’s current state. In this ruined city, reduced to such an unlivable state that its mayor wants all remaining residents gone, searchers made their way through 90 percent of the inundated neighborhoods. So … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Apparently, there’s been some confusion over the point-of-distribution (POD) sites and who is supposed to be in charge of them. A federal official Monday described the Houston-area delay of distribution of food, ice and water in the wake of Hurricane … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The good news is that so far there have been very few fatalities from Hurricane Ike. The bad news is just about everything else. Federal emergency workers today opened six Houston-area distribution sites for food and water, with plans to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Alison Cook offers a remembrance of Brennan’s Restaurant, which burned down while Ike was in town. I guess I thought Brennan’s of Houston would always be there, a timeless bubble of ease and cordiality in a world where such qualities … Continue reading → Continue reading →

From the corporate home office: The City of Houston is in need of volunteers to assist with setting up and supporting two shelters in the Houston community. The shelters will be used to house local individuals that have lost their … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following is from Houston City Council Member Melissa Noriega: If you are reading this, you are blessed–you are connected! Just a few things for your reading audience: There is beginning to be ice and water coming in. Some stores … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve received the following email from Galveston native Joe Jaworski: “Just spent 2 hours on the island with mayor, city manager and city department heads. They are brave heroes for riding this destructive storm out. We had to navigate army … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s gonna take awhile. Houston Mayor Bill White said this morning ice and fresh water are on the way, although he couldn’t give a timetable. He said fuel is being distributed first to those with “critical needs,” such as hospitals … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We are currently scheduled to fly back to Houston on Thursday. Assuming we can get there. Entergy Texas are without power today at noon. The Texas-New Mexico Power Co., which services communities south of town, from Alvin to West Columbia, … Continue reading → Continue reading →