My sister just called from a place called Village Creek which is near Beaumont, Texas. Village Creek is where they often go camping in their RV. Village Creek has issued mandatory evacuation orders effective tomorrow morning. My sister said they already had the place boarded up and the locals were filling everything they could up with gasoline.
They aren’t going home yet even though they’ve already left the campground. They’re headed towards her husbands grandmothers house which isn’t all that far off the coast near the Beaumont area.
I’ve called my son and reminded him to go ahead and fill up his car with gas. If I remember correctly, he’s up near Lake Livingston visiting his Dad. I told him even if that’s where he was, he still needed to fill up since if it gets bad, the trucks won’t be able to make it to any of the service stations.
I had one of two choices back when Wilma was out in the Gulf. I could have him go to his Dad’s house on Livingstone or I could have him go to my sister’s house on the SW side of Houston. Thankfully we decided it would be best if he went to my sister’s house.
It was a little bit crowded at her house during that time since some of my b-i-l’s co-workers weren’t really sure their 2nd floor apartment could handle Wilma if she hit Houston head on. They brought their 2 (I think there were 2, might have been 3) kids along with a couple of other adults. Lots of spaghetti was consumed and my son hid out in the computer room playing games and visiting with people online.
My sister has lived in her house for close to 25 years and has never been flooded. I hope she never does flood but if she does, she’s as prepared as one can be. Even though the flood maps don’t place her in a flood zone she still carries flood insurance. It’s really the prudent thing to do because ya just never know!
Just as soon as Gustav is officially in the Gulf of Mexico there won’t be any more houses closing until after the storm finally hits somewhere. Insurance agents won’t write any type of policy when there’s a hurricane in the gulf.Mortgage companies won’t close on a house without an insurance policy being in effect.
I sure hope people remember the hell that was Wilma and will at least fill up their cars. It took 2 days after Wilma hit before there was any gasoline available in the area of Houston where my sister lives.
While hurricanes are never actually funny, my sister and I did have a little fun during Wilma. She’d call me periodically with “storm damage” reports. She’d call me and report a rain drop had fallen on the deck and another time she called to report some damage to one of her trees as a leaf had blown off. Silly I know but when you aren’t sure yet whether you’re going to get hit, a little humor helps ease the tension.
Yes, a little humor goes a long way after the stress of hurried preparation and the long wait.