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We had a tornado once when I lived in Texas. It damaged the roof of a store right across the street. I also experienced a moderate earthquake in Santa Cruz, Calif.
But they were over with quickly. Neither of them creeps me out as much as the ice storms we get here, because life comes almost to halt when it happens. Snow here where we live (Portland area) turns into sheets of ice, wrecks all over the place, can't walk anywhere, and sometimes trees fall from the heavy layer on them. Since I don't handle "cold" well, I get paranoid of losing electricity. Gratefully, it's always over with in a few days (so far).
My biggest worry is that people will freak out and cause another stampede out of the city that will kill people again, just because they don't want to deal with not having power for a little while. If you're in a well-built structure in Houston or some place further inland from the coast, a storm the strength of Ike shouldn't tear your roof off. To put it in perspective - you're probably more likely to get in a wreck or break down on the road during an evacuation than you are of having some sort of major structural damage to your house or whatever you live in. A stronger storm might be different, but for something like Ike evacuations are probably better reserved for people who live on the coast (e.g. Galveston) or people with special needs. For that matter, evacuating inland doesn't guarantee that you won't lose power if you end up in the path of the storm's remnants. Ike caused power outages as far away as Canada, and people inland might have to wait just as long to get power restored because of electric crews converging on the spot where the storm made landfall. Workers came from all over the place in the effort to restore power to the Houston area after Ike, which means they weren't in other places inland that were affected.
History would indicate that it'll be some time, possibly a decade or two, before another major hurricane hits this part of Texas. But that doesn't mean it couldn't happen next year - it's just that it's not necessarily likely.
I was in the traffic mess during Hurricane Rita headed west to Austin. It took me 16 hours to get there. It usually only takes 3 hours. Hearing that wind all night long was probably one of the worst experiences of my life, even worse than sitting in 16 hour traffic. I think that when the next storm comes the evacuation process will be a smooth one. I didn't hear of any traffic problems during Ike. Most people stayed in town. Even alot of people in Galveston and Bolivar didn't leave.
That's exactly it though - there were no traffic problems only because most people stayed put. What if that doesn't happen next time?
I just don't think a Category 2 or 3-type storm is worth evacuating Houston over. Your call though. I stayed in for Ike, and I'd do it all over again.
I know the risk of death is low in Houston when a hurricane hits but being without electricity for weeks is just too much. I'd rather be at my friend's house in Dallas or Austin waiting for things to go back to normal. Not being able to shower, no food at the grocery stores, no tv to watch or internet. It's just so much easier to stay with friends that actually have all that stuff. I'm single so it's easier for me to just get up and go to a friends house out of town.
I've been through 2 wildfires in San Diego, in 2003 and 2007. That's the one I voted for since it was the most serious. I've also been through a hurricane in Atlanta (Opal in 1995) and a few typhoons in Japan, a blizzard (1993, the entire East Coast), and a few minor earthquakes (Cali and Japan).
I've been through 2 wildfires in San Diego, in 2003 and 2007. That's the one I voted for since it was the most serious. I've also been through a hurricane in Atlanta (Opal in 1995) and a few typhoons in Japan, a blizzard (1993, the entire East Coast), and a few minor earthquakes (Cali and Japan).
How intense was the storm by the time it made it to Atlanta?
I know the risk of death is low in Houston when a hurricane hits but being without electricity for weeks is just too much. I'd rather be at my friend's house in Dallas or Austin waiting for things to go back to normal. Not being able to shower, no food at the grocery stores, no tv to watch or internet. It's just so much easier to stay with friends that actually have all that stuff. I'm single so it's easier for me to just get up and go to a friends house out of town.
For Ike, I evacuated like 3 days before the storm hit. My apartments weren't even in a evacuation zone and still flooded. I understand some people leaving, because they have family and you can't just think about yourself when it comes to events like this.
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