Posted on 09/21/2005 2:18:03 PM PDT by dvan
Thank you so much for your prayers. We will need it. So far, it looks like Rita is coming our way. We are on the outskirts of Houston but the current path is showing that the eye will cross our little town.
We've been stocking up on necessities, and several of our friends from out of town have called and offered us (including our puppies of course) their home, but we won't make the final decision until tomorrow. Talked with our next door neighbors last night and if we stay, we plan on pulling our resources together to survive until things return to normal.
We are not firefighters, just friends of our volunteer fire department but today they asked us if we would help them should we decide to stay. They will be short of manpower handling the aftermath, since this town is comprised of lots of elderly folks.
So, we are leaning on riding it out. As far as the preparation goes, here's what we've done so far. If you can think of anything else, please let us know.
-We managed to borrow a generator from friends (they will be leaving in their fancy motor home) and we will share it with our neighbors to get our fridges going at least, got 10 gauge wire to hook it up with, -filled the tub with water, -Will fill the washing machine with soap and water to clean with, -filled big pots with water and put in the freezer so we will have big ice chunks, -filled all our coolers with water since the stores were out of bottled water, -got blankets lined up to block the doorways, -out truck is full of gas just in case, -will put our paperwork in contractor grade garbage bags and set them up high off the floor, -the same for our computers, which we will pack on Friday morning, -getting laundry done, -got a battery operated radio, -have enough dry food for us and the pups between our neighbors and us, -got bleach, -have enough "arms" and ammo just in case looters show up. Ha! Our next door neighbor is a detective and he carries an AR15 in his unmarked car. -gathered candles, etc. -been praying for the best outcome out of this...
WHEW!!! I am getting nervous all over again typing this list. Hope we are adequately prepared. Your prayers mean a LOT to us and the folks who will be affected by this. Houston's mayor Bill White is pretty sharp (even if he is a democrat, ha ha) and is keeping things under control.
All businesses in Houston and our area will be closed tomorrow until, and some highways are now one-way only out of the dangerous area. There was a big bus convoy headed out of Galveston this afternoon. And our county is holding an emergency management meeting tomorrow for firefighters, police, and the paramedics.
All in all, I am scared to death, but I trust in God. His Will be done, no matter what. God Bless you, NWI, and the Americans United for a Free Republic for caring. Love to all,
Name Witheld by dvan
PS: I will email you before we pack our computers and let you know what's going on.
God help you all. These storms are getting ridiculous and a bit to precise in targeting for my liking. Seems something is up....
Prayers going out from here for all the Houstonians. I talked with my sister in law today and offered them our house in Atlanta. She said there were no hotel rooms all the way to Memphis at least. She was packing up their stuff and I guess going to leave tomorrow AM.
Perhaps God was after someone in NO but missed? The bad guy came to Texas and God's still after him?
Looks lke we will be south of the center here.
Prayers up!
BTW, do you know how high your house is above sea level?
Make sure you’re not in an area known to flood.
If you’re in an area known to flood, head out for Woodville or Colmesneil or somewhere.
If you’re satisfied that you’ll be high and dry, you start boarding up the windows with plywood.
I’m not a fan of dry foods because they typically require water and preparation. I prefer canned goods. Pre cook a few pots of rice and put them in the fridge in ziplock bags or Tupperware or something. My favorite (or one favorite) is rice, beans, corn, and salsa mixed together. It’s OK and since the rice is already cooked you won’t have to cook/heat anything when you mix it up.
Don’t forget the can opener. Don’t forget the first aid kit. If you forget the can opener and use a non-locking knife to open the can, you’ll end up needing the first aid kit (and a whetstone).
Don’t forget that you’ll still have 30 (or whatever) gallons of drinkable water in the water heater. Turn it off before you start draining off the water so you don’t break or burn up the tank.
I like to keep a couple rolls of trash bags and a few rolls of duct tape handy. They're useful for a bunch of stuff you can't even think up yet.
For instance, I made a dandy commode from a Lawn 'n Leaf bag and an old lawn chair once.
You gotta swim for it, you gotta swim. You gotta swim for it with three puppies and somebody's not going to make it.
Send word back to this FReeper that maybe the best way she can help the local first responders is to load up her vehicle with as many elderly people as will fit and drive them out of the path of the storm!
My last blast...I am fed up with these people!
It is extremely SELFISH to put rescue workers at risk just because you're too stupid to see what God is putting right in your face.
I have NEVER been this blunt...I have no patience with these idiots!!!
Lord, I pray that millions in this land will raise their voices to you in praise for your almighty power. Only You, Lord, can weaken the power of hurricane Rita and deflect the weather system to unpopulated areas. Hear our prayers, O Lord, as we believe You, for Your power to calm the winds and the waters. In Jesus's name, Amen.
No, not at all. The hurricanes are the work of the devil not of God. But God has the power to rebuke the hurricane if we believe in Him. When al qaeda said hurricane katrina was an answer to their prayers, they weren't kidding. Our God, the one true God, needs to hear from US.
A&M has cancelled classes for Friday and I'm told there's no gas in Bryan.
Appreciate prayers for those who will be left at the school not having gotten out.
People who stay won't be assisting the fire dep't in anything. They will be asking to be rescued. They're a drain on rescue efforts.
I just can't understand why people stay. The most helpful thing to do is to load up your vehicle (the biggest one you have) with people who don't have a way out themselves (particularly the sick and elderly), and head for the nearest safe place.
OUCH!!!
Good advice, who dat, about the duct tape and trash bags, especially the one involving lawn chair. Who would've thunk that?
About the water from the water heater, though. Generally, it's not safe to drink water from it, due to possible bacteria.
Amen.
As far as I know, there is still gas almost everywhere in College Station. The stores have all had a run on water, but there are still bottles to be found in town.
I'll be sticking it out here. At worst, I have an office on campus that I can go to. The school was nice enough to open up the garages on Friday for people's cars in case we have hail and flying debris.
What if the chances of Rita weakening to about 75-95 mph by the time it gets to your town is 50/50? What would you do in this case? It's not like he or she is in Galveston? In which case, I'd also jump on the band wagon and tell this freeper to get the heck out no matter who needs them.
Some here seem to be quick to judge.
Best wishes to you and yours, Aggie.
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