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Are all ok?

B

brickman

Noob
Just a follow up on the Hurricane ........ is everyone ok? Thoughts and prayers are with you all as I watch the devastation on tv. This reallyu puts things in perspective. Hoping all of you and your families are doing ok. I know many or all are without power, but needed to say this anyway.

brickman :texflag:
 
I just moved to Iowa a couple weeks ago for school. My family is still in the Houston area thankfully everyone i've heard from are okay with only minor damage.

Hope everyone is okay.
 
people are slowly checking in down in the hurricane ike thread. on tv right now a texan republican congresman boasting how much better Houston did than new orleans
 
brickman said:
Just a follow up on the Hurricane ........ is everyone ok? Thoughts and prayers are with you all as I watch the devastation on tv. This reallyu puts things in perspective. Hoping all of you and your families are doing ok. I know many or all are without power, but needed to say this anyway.

brickman :texflag:
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well :friends:
 
I'm okay. We are one of the few people with power.

It looks like a bomb went off in my neighborhood. Downed trees and signs everywhere. I have a bunch of trees down in my yard, but fortunately they missed the house.

I've been through a bunch of hurricanes, but that by far was the scariest night of my life. It sounded like the ocean and a train at the same time and I kept thinking that the next wind gust was going to bust the windows in.

Drove to get back to my house (I stayed up the street at some place safer)--all the street lights out, lots of trees in people's houses. I've never seen anything quite like it.

The hurricane lasted WAAAAY too long--I thought it wouldn't stop. I am going to go into a coma tonight.

God bless and prayers for everyone affected by the hurricane and the responders trying to help.

:texflag:
 
Hey, just wanted to come in and wish you guys all the best. I hope everyone is okay. Next week when things start returning to something resembling normal, please drop by our forum and make fun of VY. A little rivalry talk will probably be a welcome distraction from the events of the past 24 hours.

Take care all and know that our thoughts are with you.
 
I work for CenterPoint. We are doing our best. 2.1 million out of 2.26 customers without power. Myself and my infant included. To those who see us out there, cut us some slack and stop asking when the power will be back up. We are working as fast as possible. The answer is weeks. some area may be less, we are estimating some to possibly be 4+.

If it comes up sooner, consider yourself lucky. We will be working from 5am to 10pm everyday until power is restored in the entire Greater Houston area.

Take care everyone, I will try and keep in touch whenever i get the chance. But without power at home, its rather difficult.
 
I am one of the lucky ones and have power but it is only a two block area that still has it around here .
 
what's funny, anyone who needed to read my post has no power... looks like another bad day today with all of the heavy rain I'm seeing right now.
 
I'm up here in Kansas and I really do wish yall the best. My family stayed through and they don't have power though they do have a working land-line phone. My family on the island made it off ok, and we got my grandma out of Port Arthur in time as well. Our house in Houston is just fine structurally with no flooding. Port Arthur and Galveston are stilled closed off, so we don't know about the other family members' houses.
 
As a side note, my mom said power could be 2-3 weeks getting back on, so she is actually looking forward to going into work tomorrow at ExxonMobil because they have generators and have AC.
 
I just drove the car around the block and it isn't too terrible here just north of the 290/610. Branches and brush are all over the place, but I haven't seen any houses completely wiped out yet. Anybody hear from SheTex and how Pasadena's looking?
 
2nd night without power...staying in Katy with my folks who do have power. Damage to my home was a minimum. Light roof damange and a couplee of fenced broken. Hopefully all will be back to normoal soon.
 
We have electricity in Baytown. My house had very light damage, fence knocked down, couple of shingles missing. No running water though.

You know how much it sucks coming home from a long day of helping neighbors saw apart huge uprooted oak trees and picking up debris and NOT BEING ABLE TO TAKE A SHOWER!

I at least thank god for power and a/c.
 
Power just came back this morning. Thanks to Scourge and the other power workers out there. I've got a neighbor's tree resting on the side of my house and some fence damage. Other than that it's just tree limbs everywhere. I've been cleaning since Saturday morning. Saturday and Sunday were hard without football, except for radio.
 
just checking in on a short lunch break... they have bumped us up to 18 hour work days. I miss my 4 month old and its only been a few days. She is teething and hot, so she is miserable. The substation that serves my house(west side of Humble) is completely down, so no power for me for about 3-5 weeks.

If anyone without power that can read this lets me know what area they live in, I may be able to find out a little information about some sort of time frame, but don't expect too much. We are still telling most people 2+ weeks.

On the good side, we have literally thousands of contractors coming from places like California, Indiana, and Florida to help out. Looks like all the help we give is paying off.

Everyone take care

*edit* what really scares me is the people of Tiki Island and Galveston... I mean, when they said "get out" and they didn't, its really their fault, but it still hurts to know that it is so bad that TV coverage is very limited due to too many floating bodies. My thoughts go to the families out there and hope that it's not as bad as they are making it out to be.
 
scourge said:
*edit* what really scares me is the people of Tiki Island and Galveston... I mean, when they said "get out" and they didn't, its really their fault, but it still hurts to know that it is so bad that TV coverage is very limited due to too many floating bodies. My thoughts go to the families out there and hope that it's not as bad as they are making it out to be.
Click to expand...

The mayor of Galveston did everyone a disservice. On Wednesday night, she told west enders that they were mandatory evacuations, but that everyone else was to shelter in place.

Even from a foresight perspective, this was wrong wrong wrong. (I said so at the time) The error of some of the longer range forecasts is 200 miles, that there were signs that the storm could be going more north of Corpus, and even some of the early reports suggested that the storm surge for a storm of this size could be massive.

I heard her talking like a doddering ***** Wednesday night and told my husband she was going to kill people by making them think that they will be safe if they stay on the island.

So Wednesday night, some residents had prepared themselves to do the old hunker down. By Thursday morning, residents there had to make the choice between hunker down and possibly getting caught on the freeway in a massive Rita like traffic jam in the middle of a hurricane.

I knew of the risk and bought all my supplies on Wednesday--the grocery stores were busy but not completely nuts. By Thursday, the grocery stores had lines 20 people long because finally the "certain death" sort of message was getting out.

Not everyone has internet coverage to know the in depth forecast. The mayor said hunker down at the worst possible time. People should have been evacuating Wednesday by the latest instead of starting the evac within 24 hours of possible first tropical storm force winds.

And of course, some Galveston residents are just idiots. There was video of people on the island on Friday that looked like they had a few cans short of a six-pack. And the ones on the island with children mugging for the camera, should be reported to CPS.
 
KEYE SUX said:
The highest death toll that I have seen is 31. How can there be so many bodies floating around?
Click to expand...

It could be some sort of exaggeration, but that's what they are telling us... haven't heard from many outside sources. And I can't even get through to a friend of mine who is a police officer there. Not sure if he is even ok.
 
Here are some updates...


CenterPoint Energy restored power to several priority customers. Service was re-established to Hobby Airport and Ellington Field as well as several hospitals, including Riverside General Hospital, Kingwood Medical Center, Memorial Hermann Humble (MHHS), Clear Creek Medical Center, HCA Spring Branch Medical Center, University General Hospital, San Jacinto Methodist Hospital, MHHS Northeast, Medical Center Hospital.


CenterPoint Energy’s restoration efforts continue
Company emphasizes safety around power lines
and when using portable generators
Next news release: 9 p.m.

Houston – Sept. 15, 2008 – Thousands of mutual assistance linemen and tree trimmers from across the country continue to arrive to enhance CenterPoint Energy’s electric restoration efforts. The company estimates that by the end of the day, 3,000 scheduled linemen and tree trimmers will have arrived and received work orders. And by Wednesday, an additional 4,000 will be on the scene helping CenterPoint Energy get power back on. These mutual assistance crews will help CenterPoint Energy make repairs identified by the company’s “cut and clear” process. “When faults are identified on a line, such as a downed tree, power line or pole, we isolate the problem where the fault is and reroute power around it. This process quickly restores power to large numbers of customers. Later, crews come back to the damaged area to make all proper repairs,” explained Kenny Mercado, CenterPoint Energy senior vice president of Electric Operations. Mutual assistance crews will play a key role to work these faults. This labor-intensive process takes several hours in which to complete each work order.

Important Electric Safety Information for AFTER the Storm

As customers continue to use portable generators and begin to clean-up storm debris, it is critical that customers act safely and follow these safety tips:

• Know where power lines are and always stay at least 10 feet away. Whether you’re trimming your trees or clearing debris, take note of all power lines in the area and have a plan of how to work around them.

• Use portable generators in a well-ventilated area. Never run them inside, even in your garage. Gasoline-powered generators produce carbon monoxide, and the fumes can be deadly.

 Do not connect the portable generator to any house wiring.

 Never connect a portable electric generator or a motor home/RV generator directly to your home's electrical system during a power outage. Electricity could backfeed into the power lines and endanger CenterPoint Energy workers.

 Plug appliances directly into the generator using heavy duty, properly grounded extension cords. Make sure that extension cords are not frayed or worn.

 Read all instructions carefully and follow all manufacturers’ guidelines for portable generator operations and grounding.

 Limit the number of appliances you use to no more than the recommended wattage of the generator.

 Use the generator only when necessary, and don't overload it. Turn it off at night while you sleep and when you are away from home to avoid a possible fire hazard.

 If you have any doubts about how to properly use a portable electric generator, contact the manufacturer or a licensed electrician for assistance.

Natural gas safety

Be alert for the smell of natural gas. If you smell gas, leave the area immediately and tell others to leave too. Many areas are inaccessible or extremely difficult for company employees to access so it’s important to leave the area and call CenterPoint Energy from a safe, remote location and to be patient.

• Do not smoke, strike a match, use a cell phone or operate anything that might cause a spark, including a flashlight or a generator.

• Do not attempt to turn natural gas valves on or off. Once safely away from the area, call 713-659-2111 or 888-876-5786 and CenterPoint Energy will send a trained service technician immediately.

How CenterPoint Energy prioritizes restoration

After performing an initial damage assessment, including aerial surveys and on the ground inspections, the company focuses on repairs that will restore power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest amount of time.

1. Repairs begin with circuits, which are the backbone of the distribution system. Repairing these main feeder lines can affect 1,000 customers or more.

2. Line fuses are repaired next. Typically 100 or more customers are served behind line fuses.

3. Transformers are the third level of the restoration process. Replacing or repairing transformers will typically restore power to 10 or fewer customers.

4. Individual drops serve single homes. These repairs are the last stage of the restoration process.

What customers can do to help
The company continues to ask customers NOT to call the company to report outages, but only to report emergencies such as downed power lines at 713-207-2222.
While crews continue to work around the clock to restore power, there are steps customers can take to get their home ready to receive electric service. CenterPoint Energy will make repairs to the electric delivery system up to the point where it connects to a home or business. However, the customer is responsible for repairs if there is damage to the meter enclosure or weatherhead – the point where the line enters the home through a pipe. If the meter enclosure or weatherhead is damaged, our crews will not be able to re-establish service. If in doubt, homeowners should contact a licensed electrician to make an inspection and any necessary repairs.

Also, while CenterPoint Energy will cut trees and limbs away from power lines and the electric service drops to the homes, homeowners are responsible for the removal of debris left by tree trimming crews who are assisting with power restoration efforts.

The company’s 5,000 square-mile electric service territory suffered widespread damage as a result of 100-mile-per-hour winds, and trees and wind-blown debris on power lines. Patience will continue to be a key factor. Customers should be prepared to be without power for an extended period of time depending on the damage to the facilities that serve them.



Update: CenterPoint Energy reaches restoration
milestone – a half million customers receive electricity
Houston – Sept. 15, 2008 – As of 7:36 a.m., CenterPoint Energy reported that within 48 hours, it has restored electricity to a half million customers. Now, 27 percent of the 2.26 million customers have power.
“We’re extremely pleased with the results of our disciplined restoration plan,” said Kenny Mercado, senior vice president of Electric Operations. “I’m very proud of our employees, and we’ll continue to work around the clock until everyone’s service is on.”



I know also that Katy, Richmond, and Rosenberg are up and running. I have Baytown is too.
 
Do you know anything about a timeframe about zip 77092 around the 290/610 or 77502 in Pasadena?
 
From what I know, Entergy serves Onalaska. All i can tell you is that Entergy has restored power to 1% of their customers.

That was confirmed on 740am a short while ago. CenterPoint has restored roughly 27%.

my feet are killing me, and i'm rediculously tired. Luckily, i have a short break to fill out paperwork, update the bosses and contractors of the areas I have seen and go to the restroom and grab more water and gatorade. I doubt I'll be so lucky in the next few days, but as i am coming in for lunch or dinner, I'll try and update with any possible info. But seriously, everything as far as when is purely speculation. The best answer both you or I receive most of the time is, we are working on it. I know Kingwood and Lockwood are a mess. Bellaire, too, and these are problems because of people crying when we come to trim their trees back. Seriously, trees are the biggest problem out there. And for those of you who have complained and/or refused to allow us to trim them, please elxplain to your neighbors why it will take so long to restore power to your area.


Speaking of which, another thing people may want(or not want) to know is that the problems lie mainly in the Feeder Circuits. Those are the circuits that run directly from the substation to the out lying areas. Those must be repaired first. And circuits strecth for miles, so no, the problem isn't going to just be the down line behind your neighbors house. Nor will it be just the blown fuse or transformer you see. Your sub can be fine, but 10 miles out there can be a down line.

If your subdivision happens to be directly fed from a Primary Feed, then your power will come up first. If yours is a lateral from from the primary, it will be fixed afterwards. Can't be done any other way. And not all of a subdivision is always fed from the same circuit. Which is why in some places, you will half the houses in your area with lights, but not yours. And some parts of a subdivision can be primary, while part is fed through a lateral.

Done giving my speaches to the bosses, and my partners have returned with our next destination, so i'm gonna get back out there now. gotta pee, grab my drink and go. I hope I have been somewhat helpful, even if you didn't necessarily enjoy the info...
 
last one for the night... dinner time and try and get home before 10:30. Back here at 4:30. May start sleeping here some throughout the week. gives me an extra hour of sleep.

Here is the latest update.


CenterPoint Energy restores power to 588,000 customers

Houston – Sept. 15, 2008 – CenterPoint Energy reported that as of 8 p.m., the company had restored power to 588,000 customers and numerous key facilities. Of the 2.26 million CenterPoint Energy customers, 1.56 million customers, or 69 percent, are still without power.
Three thousand linemen and tree trimmers from as far away as Canada have now arrived to assist CenterPoint Energy’s electric restoration efforts. By Wednesday, an additional 4,000 will be on the scene.
Major Restoration Efforts
CenterPoint Energy was asked by local, state and federal authorities to reroute power from the company’s electric grid to the Trinity River pumping station at the Lynchburg Reservoir using the same strategy the company used after Hurricane Rita. The pumping station, which is on Entergy’s electric grid, supplies water to chemical plants and refineries along the Houston Ship Channel and 10 cities, including Houston.

The company also restored all high voltage electric transmission connections between CenterPoint Energy and the rest of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas network. The company also made steady progress in restoring power to Galveston Island, despite challenging conditions, by energizing a second transmission line to the Island.
As part of the company’s commitment to prioritize power restoration to key facilities, CenterPoint Energy has energized eight hospitals, including Brazosport Hospital, Cornerstone of Houston at Clear Lake, Park Plaza Hospital, San Jacinto Hospital, St. Christus, Tomball Regional,Triumph – North and Universal General.

CenterPoint Energy crews are working around the clock and will until everyone’s service is restored.
 
Im still out at my place. The technicians are now saying sometime Wednesday maybe even Thursday. Our problem is the golf course. While folks immediately around us are up and running, the trees on the course have created extra probs....

No worries. At a friends with AC, good BBQ and ice for my adult beverage... A shave and a hot shower were bonuses...!!! :pirate:
 
My power came back on at 8pm sat of course I was lucky to get it back on in less than 24hrs. My gf's still isnt back on and its monday night already. I guess it just depends on if you were lucky enough not to have trees fall on transformers and such. Where is bumble bee to save the day?
 
scourge, I would like to thank you for taking the time to give everyone information during your busy schedule. God bless you and your family.


thanks,

texanfreak
 
Our house survived without any damage that is visible to the naked eye...

With the way the wind tortured the house, I think I need someone to take a look at it.

We still have no power and no landline phone service. Not good since I couldn't charge my phone until today. My office now has power, so I am charging my phone now!

I thought having a corded phone would ensure telephone service. I guess not with the kind of winds we had on Friday night...

I hope and pray that all of our Texans family is safe!

Take care all and be careful!
 
Thanks for the kind words. I am just as miserable as everyone else. For everyone one who have asked about status, I haven't found out for sure, but probably a few weeks is the answer. Don't even have a real time frame for my area other than "weeks".

I have a little extra time this morning to update, because of a meeting about change in our work.

My water went out last night, wife is low on gas, ran out of batteries, which means soon she won't have the power to use teh breast pump for my daughter.

Not to mention I was told today that i am being shipped off to another service center. And it will be random, so the chances of getting closer to home are slim. And still having to be there from 5am to 10am. With 0 time off.

If I didn't take pride in what i do, and know that i am making a difference, I would've already broken down. Although I do get agitated when I get the same question 50+ times a day, and they never think its good enough, I realize that people are just as frustrated as i am, and most have no idea what we are doing and going through to make things right again.

What's really terrible about that, is that we found out that once all Main Feeder Circuits are inspected and beginning to be worked on, we are sent to other Centers to help with inspection and repair other main feeders. Which means until ALL main feeder circuits are up, NO lateral circuits are being inspected or repaired in any given area right now. and there are far more laterals than feeders. And i, like most of you, am on a lateral. So basically, it may be more than a week until we get around to assessing damage to a lateral, and a little longer before crews get out there for repairs.

I understand why they want it done this way, and it does make some sense, but still think we probably should have at least a few people inspecting laterals too, so that the crews here can start on those as soon as they are done fixing feeder.

On the plus side, we are getting even more crews coming, so it is getting better.

Also, I have heard that ATT is telling people that it may take 2 months to get down land lines back up and running.

The best i can tell everyone is expect 2+ weeks. If it happens sooner, then you are one of the lucky ones.

I probably won't be able to post much more, so I wish everyone well, and will try and update eventually.



Take care.
 
Hey all,

Well it was a good and scary for us. We got smart and left Friday morning at 5:30 am and got to Austin to stay at my wife's Moms. It was only 2 1/2 hours for us. I have a brother there too. One of the smarter things we ever did because many got cocky and stayed. We just drove back yesterday and had no power still. The sad part was that our neighborhood and the neighboring two neighborhoods looked like war zones. Literally 50 year old, massive pines up rooted and in yards and in houses. Oak trees up rooted and in yards. Trees everywhere. It is hard to explain. The worst was many survived that and then got 12 hours of rain. I saw pictures from my neighbor. From their front door to my front door was water..it was a lake. One lady had to be rescued by canoe. It was up to their knees on their own curbs. We had put up sandbags and got lucky. We have a back side door that goes to our sunroom/baby's playroom. Some water seeped in to get the area carpet..that we removed to dry out.. but besides that the house was perfect...oh and 2 feet of water in the garage I had to sweep out. My neighbors had been really kind and collected all our limbs and laid them in front of the house. Massive amount. Our big, beautiful oak tree, which is gorgeous, lost many limbs and foliage but is still well and in tact. We got lucky too that we cut half our pecan last week that was dead and the other half remained upright. So no damage, just no electricity. Weather is beautiful so we just had candles last night and slept with windows open. We do have hot water and all. We walked some of the blocks last night and there were trees through roofs. I have a friend in a neighborhood next to us that has 6 mos old twins and their house was totaled by a tree through the middle. (They ar eon Oak Forest, we are in Shepherd Park Plaza and Garden Oaks is right by both....43rd and Ella)

One funny story was that my brother in law, who stayed and who lives a few blocks from us, rode his bike to check on our house. My neighbor across the street thought he was a looter and pulled a gun on him and his friend..lol. Told him he would verify his identity with us and to get back home and hunker down because it was still windy and raining.

So overall we got lucky and I feel grateful that we had a great weekend with nice weather in Austin. We have a gas top stove so we can light it and still make soup, etc. We also have our grill and alot of food we bought before and after the storm..alot fo milk on ice for the baby.

Also, from about Brenham into Houston if coming 290, lines for gas with sheriffs and state troopers surrounding the places to make sure there is no trouble.

What I find troubling about all of this is that we left mainly because we have a 1 year old but many of my friends were defiant and cocky about staying..even with kids. I don't want a mass cluster like Rita but people need to learn that even without electricity, sitting around with kids is no good. Luckily we enjoyed Austin before coming back. Just get out next time..it isn't worth it.
 
Still no power @ home (in Spring), but otherwise we fared OK. Currently back at work...2 of 5 buildings damaged, but at least we've got power & A/C here.

Hope everyone else has come through this w/o major damage.
 
scourge said:
Thanks for the kind words. I am just as miserable as everyone else. For everyone one who have asked about status, I haven't found out for sure, but probably a few weeks is the answer. Don't even have a real time frame for my area other than "weeks".

I have a little extra time this morning to update, because of a meeting about change in our work.

My water went out last night, wife is low on gas, ran out of batteries, which means soon she won't have the power to use teh breast pump for my daughter.
Click to expand...

Scourge,

Call me. I sent you a PM.

We have several Blue Crew members that live in your area and we may be able to help the wife out by taking some batteries or anything else that she needs.

We are all a Texans family and I really appreciate the hard work you have put out.
 
made it ok. still have no power. Heard no power in Montgomery county for weeks. This does royally suck.
 
I talked to a technician yesterday. It may be Thursday before I get power.. The technician actually lives down in Shore Acres (near La Porte) and wont have power for his family for a lot longer...

Point being folks, just remember that the linemen/ technician may have a stake in this as well and many of their families are affected too.. It sucks for all....
 
Texan_Bill said:
I talked to a technician yesterday. It may be Thursday before I get power.. The technician actually lives down in Shore Acres (near La Porte) and wont have power for his family for a lot longer...

Point being folks, just remember that the linemen/ technician may have a stake in this as well and many of their families are affected too.. It sucks for all....
Click to expand...

Amen, a lot of these people are out taking care of everyone else's issue but their own.
 
Like many of y'all I made it into work today and have power (290&34th) but still no power at home in Atascocita. It looks like a war zone in many of the older neighborhoods with old growth trees. No damage for me luckily. Nearly all my neighbors have roof and water damage from shingles being blown off followed by the rain the next day. My roof is only three years old and held up well, thank God.
 
Curious, is the housing damage complete random, or are newer houses (or older for that matter) worse off?
 
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Vinnie said:
Like many of y'all I made it into work today and have power (290&34th) but still no power at home in Atascocita. It looks like a war zone in many of the older neighborhoods with old growth trees. No damage for me luckily. Nearly all my neighbors have roof and water damage from shingles being blown off followed by the rain the next day. My roof is only three years old and held up well, thank God.
Click to expand...
You work near me...any power down near 290 & 34th?
 
OK here in Livingston. No power but we do have a generator that runs the satellite, tv, little lamp and freezer. We only have one very large tree sitting in the middle of our driveway -but we got the cars out and all is well.

I have no internet connection - I'm sitting in the middle of a field attached to a generator that is running the local phone company lines. My cable connection will be gone for a very long time - so I'm going to have to find something since sitting in the middle of a field isn't really a long term solution.
 
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