Hurricane evacuation? (Houston, Galveston, League City: sale, apartment, for rent)

[nkhan]

Originally Posted by Poltracker

The National Weather Service and local governments have hurricane town hall meetings every year just before hurricane season that are very informative and educational. You can generally check their website in April to find the dates of the meeting in your area. I would suggest you attend at least one to answer all your questions. Where you are in Clear Lake determines which evacuation zone you are in. There is a mandatory evacuation law but they will not drag you from your home, however, state law provides that emergency services can legally ignore your calls for help once the wind from the hurricane or storm starts effecting your area making it unsafe to drive.

As for insurance...again, depending where you live in Clear Lake, you may be required to carry flood insurance and wind insurance. Each add on to the cost of your home owner's policy. You should also look at the deductables on your home owner's policy, many deductables double or triple if damage is from a named storm (this often catches folks by surprise based on what happened during Ike). Even if you are not required to carry flood insurance, you may find it a good idea to carry it, especially if you are near water that can rise during a storm surge.

Having said all that, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near Clear Lake if a strong Cat 3 storm hit head on (Ike was a Cat 2 and Alicia was barely a Cat 3). The worst damage will be in the areas effected by the eyewall and storm surge. Thank goodness the big storms don't happen all that often. Big storms = 1900 hurricane (Cat 4 Galveston), 1915 hurricane (Cat 4 200 + people died), 1943 surprise hurricane (Cat 1 possible Cat 2 due to war era silence, 19 people died), Carla 1961 (Cat 4, hit Matagorda but did damage along Galveston Bay and Houston areas), Alicia 1983 (Cat 3), Ike 2008 (Cat 2 winds, Cat 4 storm surge). Hurrricane Rita (2005) and Hurricane Audrey (1957) were close misses to our east. Note, there were many more hurricanes and tropical storms, some had a quite an impact i.e. Allison in 2001 but they were not "major hurricanes".

Thanxthat is very informative...and i am surprised over WIND INSURENCE?
so far i know job is in clearlake..rest we dont know..we will be given temporary accomodation in same area..then we have to find a house in a nice neighbourhoods.

[texas7]

If a storm is zeroing in on this area -- Galveston County usually falls under what is called mandatory evacuation because of proximity to Galveston Bay and elevation. Clear Lake borders Galveston County and some areas are lower than others and usually those areas are asked to evacuate or suggested to. It becomes a personal decision. We don't get annual hurricanes so even if you have to evacuate it isn't that often and if you do -- you board up your windows, etc. and go. You miss the bad weather and the electrical outages when you do leave.

[ogun]

annnnd since hurricanes come during the hottest part of the year, its a good idea to have a small window air conditioner stashed along with a generator and enough gas to run it for a couple weeks.

the generator should be sized to run a window ac and a fridge. a typical fridge will keep stuff cold when being ran about 3 hours a day if you limit door openings.

remember this, its the gospel: run from water, hide from wind.

run if you are in a projected flood zone. just take normal hurricane wind precautions if you are not in projected flood zone.

actual evacuations have happened twice in the last ten years and mostly because of folks seeing katrina's aftermath.

rita, right after katrina was a total farce. bunches of folks ran that were in no danger of flooding, then got stranded far north with no gas available to get back home.

ike was serious, but not near as bad as they were screaming. it did knock power out at my mother's house for over two weeks.

the thing about most hurricanes is the long lead time to get ready. plenty of time to get the things you need to live off grid a while.(except for the generator, id get that as soon as i got established)

hide from wind, run from water.

one little trick is to take a look at the trees whereever you wind up. branches that overhang roofs are dangerous and so are large trunked trees that will hit a house if they fall. happens often with the huge amounts of rain that sometimes falls during a hurricane coupled with the high winds. clear those branches and trees off your lot. might make it look less purtiful but the realization "uho h i shoulda cut that tree last year" as it crashes into your roof is not at all funny.

reguardless if you stay or run, have as much potable water stored as you can. also as much water for flushing toilets as you can. food grade 55 gallon and 275 gallon plastic containers are readily available for this. be sure and have a hose to siphon water out of the 55 gallon barrels.

another silly suggestion. go find the coleman brand propane powered shower. its battery powered pump and propane water heater with a sump you drop into a five gallon bucket or other container to take a hot shower. well worth it.

battery radios are good idea for times you're not running generator.

board games, cards, games kids(if you have them) can play without electricity, books.

certianly you can run your computer off the generator if you are running the generator.

just be aware you may lose power and you may lose water during and for some time after a hurricane rips through.

some folks keep deer lease travel trailers and cabins up in the country not only for hunting in fall and winter but to go up to for a hurricane. my bunch does...

and dont be skeered of hurricanes. take proper precautions and all will be well.

[nana053]

I have lived in the south for about 9 years now (only 4 in the Houston area). We have evacuated by choice for Ivan, Katrina (from near New Orleans) and Ike (from Houston). While it might not have been necessary with young children we were not about to wait and stay. For Ivan, we turned around and returned after a day as it did not hit near us. For Katrina, we stayed gone for almost 3 months because we did not intend to return until my granddaughter's preschool reopened - she had a nice preschool placement back *home* in Chicago and we were living with her other grandparents. My son did return a week after Katrina. Returning without power was not pleasant. For Ike, we evacuated for several weeks. Our house had more damage from Ike here in Houston than our house in the New Orleans area did from Katrina. Aside from that power was out for quite some time in our area of Pearland. With two young children, we did not intend to live off generators without regular power here given the temperatures. Many people do not evacuate. That's their perogative. If it had just been hubby and me, we might not have evacuated, but since part of our roof caved in and we were without power, it would not have been much fun.

Note that hurricanes are unpredictable and just like snow emergencies, there may not be many to deal with. You just have to have a plan in place and know what *you* are going to do if they are coming near us.

[kkperkins]

I live in the 77062 zip code, and pay 2300 for 150,000 for building and 60,000 for contents which includes windstorm and 300/yr for flood.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by ogun

ike was serious, but not near as bad as they were screaming. it did knock power out at my mother's house for over two weeks.

I take it you did not live in Bolivar, Galveston Island, around Galveston Bay, or on the east side of Houston. All areas that were affected by the storm surge and eyewall of the storm. The folks in Shoreacres, Bolivar and other neighborhoods have still not fully recovered from Ike. It took 6 months to get electric and water back at my friend's house on Jamaica Beach, I'm sure there are others in a similar situation. A couple of my friends lost their houses completely, one in Seabrook and one in Shoreacres. Sadly, one of those lost his home in Brownwood during Alicia. BTW, Brownwood no longer exists.

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by Poltracker

I take it you did not live in Bolivar, Galveston Island, around Galveston Bay, or on the east side of Houston. All areas that were affected by the storm surge and eyewall of the storm. The folks in Shoreacres, Bolivar and other neighborhoods have still not fully recovered from Ike. It took 6 months to get electric and water back at my friend's house on Jamaica Beach, I'm sure there are others in a similar situation. A couple of my friends lost their houses completely, one in Seabrook and one in Shoreacres. Sadly, one of those lost his home in Brownwood during Alicia. BTW, Brownwood no longer exists.

Good point. We live in Webster, and our complex sits on Clear Creek. Luckily we had absolutely no flooding. But when we came back after the evacuation we drove around and saw boats literally right on the edge of NASA Rd around Seabroook. I saw pictures of fishing boats on the freeway as you get closer to Galveston. My family lives in Orange, Tx, and Ike left them with a waterline above the electrical outlets. Ike wasn't a powerful storm, but it did a huge amount of flood damage.

On another note, the Kemah Boardwalk was underwater after Ike, but I swear they rebuilt everything in a week, or at least it felt that way!

[ogun]

i said ike was serious. that means it was serious. i agree alecia was serious also. alecia was deadly dangerous because of how quick she formed and came in.

moms place is in Texas City and they forecast it to come right over the seawall. it didnt but the bunch ran up to trinity area anyway. was up there about six days, got a call power was on.

came home, it was on across the street but her place had none. she refused my offer of a generator and gas. crazy woman.

[nkhan]

Originally Posted by Malvie

Our homeowners insurance rates in Texas are among the highest in the nation, so you're likely in for sticker shock on that one no matter what. But yes, flood insurance is a desirable item here, and it costs.

As for evacuations, we evacuate for hurricanes about as often as Minnesotans evacuate for snow events. I've lived both places. Trust me, you've nothing to fear.

Thnx

[nkhan]

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

Good point. We live in Webster, and our complex sits on Clear Creek. Luckily we had absolutely no flooding. But when we came back after the evacuation we drove around and saw boats literally right on the edge of NASA Rd around Seabroook. I saw pictures of fishing boats on the freeway as you get closer to Galveston. My family lives in Orange, Tx, and Ike left them with a waterline above the electrical outlets. Ike wasn't a powerful storm, but it did a huge amount of flood damage.

On another note, the Kemah Boardwalk was underwater after Ike, but I swear they rebuilt everything in a week, or at least it felt that way!