Is Galveston Finished?

[rkmoses]

This subject interests me in many ways... I grew up in Houston, visited Galveston as a child and later into teen years.... I remember Hurricane Alicia in '83. Galveston has not grown, since then. In fact, Galveston's population has remained almost the same for over 50 years. Alecia killed 21 people in 1983, her max sustained winds were 115mph. Ike was a bigger storm, yet had lower sustained winds..... Galveston's population, however was much poorer and older, than in 1983.
...Now, I had lived in southwest FL for the last 9 years. In 2004, we had the unpleasant duty of dealing with four major hurricanes... Charley (small, powerful cat 4 storm that hit on friday the 13th), Frances, Ivan & Jeanne.
The people of the Florida gulf coast are an altogether, different animal than the folks on the Texas side. First of all, it is almost impossible to be an impoverished home owner, on the FL gulf. Rent is too high for poverty stricken home seekers.....and there are none of the older "established poor" communities that Texas gulf coasters are aware and proud of.
The Texas gulf coast is also in the "direct line of fire", as far as past Atlantic hurricane seasons have proven. In order for a gulf hurricane to directly hit a city like, say Tampa, the hurricane would have to turn a virtual 180 degrees, as it rounds Cuba and the FL keys.
With that being said, Galveston, almost like New Orleans is destined for another major hurricane. Unlike our underfunded and very brave friends living in present day New Orleans, Galveston has already reshaped and fortified its original small, charming, Victorian city center. From what I understand, the people that have developed the southwest portion of galveston island always knew that they were unprotected, and therefore living on the "edge". But, these folks also knew that they could build and maintain a property on the gulf for far less than the rest of the gulf coast residents in AL and FL.
This brings me to my point.... Taxes are going to skyrocket in Galveston. Poor people that have lived in Galveston their entire lives, will be forced to live in "anonymous" conditions.. Eventually causing a sort of "mini New Orleans" effect. Mass exodus, followed by mass deconstruction, hopefully followed by reconstruction, will occur.
It is very sad, indeed.
The saddest part of the whole deal is that the city of Galveston has gained and lost her identity quite a few times, now...........None of us really know what will come of "The Oleander City".

[fordlover]

Galveston, it is what it is.

If Galveston had perfect powder sand beaches, crystal clear water, and spent as much on beach maintaince as parts of California does, it would cost as much to live in Galveston as it does to live in Malibu.

I for one like Galveston, I wouldn't consider it perfect, but what is? If you don't like Galveston, or despise it, then move away, and or never visit, oh, and shut up about it.

To the individual who's been going on about the house built in 1955 being better than the 'new' homes, that is such a sweaping statement that is wrong. There may be some new homes that are inferior to some homes built back in the 50's, but I'd say that is the exception, not the rule.

Texas Windstorm Association has pushed for and continue to update building codes. My company engineered a home built in galveston a year before IKE hit, 100 MPH winds were recorded very near the home during the storm, and the only damage the home recieved was some limited to some gutter falling.

There is some very involved straping and connectors that are now required along the Coast in Texas, and I would much prefer to build my home to these new standards than what code required in 1955.

[rdambroso]

I bought a cheap old house in a blue collar west end neighborhood in 07. I did a studs out remodel which took me 11 months on weekends. It came out beautiful. Many houses around are somwhat run-down but there was a lot of investment/remodeling activity beginning. In 04/08 I got the house rented out. In 09/08, Ike came through. My house got 5' of water inside. This required a total gut job again of the inside. The outside just needed cleanup and pressure washing. It was completed in 02/09. Didn't get the permit until 12/08. 2 family members rent it at a discount, so we can go down any weekend for free (the part of the mortgage we pay :-).
Since Ike, many homes are being completely remodeled in the neighborhood. Many are getting lifted up on pilings. My wife and I went to the beach about 3 weeks ago and it was nice. The water was a little brown, but it was a hot sunny day, and we had a very good time. We went to the Strand the evening before. There were several places open and fully operational. Unfortunately, probably 50% of the storefronts were still closed. I hope they intend to re-open soon.
UTMB re-opened it's trauma center in the past few days. That is big, because it was badly damaged and a major employer.
Gambling is argued frequently as a possible future for the island. While a 'lightweight' gambler, I think it would have an overall positive economic impact on the island. We'll see.
I have Realtor friends on the island, and from their perspective, the island will actually be better in a year or so than it was before Ike. Many of the extremely poor on the island had to relocate. It could become a little more gentrified than it was before. It is also located less than 1 hr from America's 4th largest city. The causeway has been doubled. You can still buy a fixer for under 50K. All of this leads me to believe that the long term prospects for the island are positive. My neighborhood is actually nicer now since Ike than it was before.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by rkmoses

Galveston has not grown, since then. In fact, Galveston's population has remained almost the same for over 50 years.

Galveston's population remained the same because many middle earning people have been priced out and moved to the suburbs. This is leaving the rich and the poor in Galveston.

The Galveston ISD schools are losing many students, so many elementary schools have closed.

[chad.roper]

those beach houses are not heavy enough. If they were built on stainless steel legs and the whole house was built of steel and everything welded together you could design it to withstand a hurricane and storm surge. It would have to be so heavy it could not float. Then it would cost a lot and look like some kind of a building designed to go offshore.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by chad.roper

those beach houses are not heavy enough. If they were built on stainless steel legs and the whole house was built of steel and everything welded together you could design it to withstand a hurricane and storm surge. It would have to be so heavy it could not float. Then it would cost a lot and look like some kind of a building designed to go offshore.

After Ike I noticed many (but not all) of the West End houses had survived. I think the not as well built ones got mowed down, while the better built ones survived.

[stillkit]

Galveston will be fine. It survived the 1900 hurricane, and prospered. It survived, and will prosper again, after Ike.

As for the houses? Lemme tell you something: I spent 8 days down there "mudding out" flooded homes, beginning about a week after the storm. "Mudding out" means carrying out soaked belongings and stripping away dry wall, floor coverings and anything else which will get in the way of drying. It typically means removing anything wooden from the house and cutting away the walls up to about a foot above high water and exposing the underlying substructure to the air, then "shocking" the whole thing with a chlorine/water mixture to kill, or prevent, mold. The older the house was, the better built it was, almost without exception.

For instance, we worked the home of a very good looking lady cop, which was nearly 100 years old (The house...not her!). She'd had surge water into her ground floor, which was a good 5 feet above ground, to a depth of roughly 3 feet. When we took away the paneling and drywall, we found the interior walls were 1X6 shiplap! She had what appeared to be a baseboard about an inch thick, but when we tried to strip it away, it wouldn't come off. You know why? Because it wasn't a baseboard at all! It was a piece of 2X6 which had been cut down to LOOK like a baseboard! We never did get to the studs as there was no need to. The shiplap walls were impervious to water because they were "old" wood. In fact, some of the wood came from the debris of the 1900 hurricane.

That was repeated all over Galveston Island. We worked several older houses which were similarly built.

And the people? Man, they were something! As soon as they were allowed back in (and in some cases, even before that), they got busy hauling out their precious belongings and dumping them on the curb for pickup. Whole, extended families came to help and, when they ran out of things to do for themselves, they'd go next door and help the neighbors do their houses! Or total strangers!

We worked another house where an old Jewish lady lived alone. She was from Latvia and had survived the Holocaust by being hidden in a barn, along with her sister, for 3 or 4 years by a Christian family (If you live in Galveston, you may have seen her story in the local paper). Anyhow, a local fireman took it upon himself to watch after her and help her find the help she needed. Her entire lower floor had been flooded up to the ceiling. He was not related to her in any way, that I know of, but he spent his off-duty time helping her, in spite of the fact that his own home at Sea Isle had been damaged too. He took care of HER damage even before he took care of his own.

No, don't you worry about Galveston.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by stillkit

And the people? Man, they were something! As soon as they were allowed back in (and in some cases, even before that), they got busy hauling out their precious belongings and dumping them on the curb for pickup. Whole, extended families came to help and, when they ran out of things to do for themselves, they'd go next door and help the neighbors do their houses! Or total strangers!

That sounds about right. It makes me sick whenever someone audaciously compares Houston/Galveston to New Orleans, south Louisiana or Port Arthur. Although the terrain is very similar, there is enough difference in relief that changes the way hurricanes affect the areas. Big difference between uber-marshes and barrier islands.

Next, and most importantly is what is described above! (And the same goes for the forgotten Hurricane Dolly that hit the RGV.) As soon as we all came back, everyone was outside cleaning all the tree debris, lending tools, ladders, saws, hands, etc. Homeowners got brave enough to climb 25 ft to put their own tarps on their roofs, helped fix fences, and after about 5-6 weeks of contractors working, our whole block was better than before Ike! What do you see to our east? The same damage from 2005 still sitting there, decaying.

Ike proved that we Texans git r done, and we come back bigger and stronger whenever a disaster strikes. Those other posers to the east are still sitting there, wallowing around in their own filth and blaming The Man while waiting for a handout.

And you enlightened bloggers who have never been here but think y'all have it figured out can put that in your pipes and smoke it.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by tstone

That sounds about right. It makes me sick whenever someone audaciously compares Houston/Galveston to New Orleans, south Louisiana or Port Arthur. Although the terrain is very similar, there is enough difference in relief that changes the way hurricanes affect the areas. Big difference between uber-marshes and barrier islands.

Next, and most importantly is what is described above! (And the same goes for the forgotten Hurricane Dolly that hit the RGV.) As soon as we all came back, everyone was outside cleaning all the tree debris, lending tools, ladders, saws, hands, etc. Homeowners got brave enough to climb 25 ft to put their own tarps on their roofs, helped fix fences, and after about 5-6 weeks of contractors working, our whole block was better than before Ike! What do you see to our east? The same damage from 2005 still sitting there, decaying.

Ike proved that we Texans git r done, and we come back bigger and stronger whenever a disaster strikes. Those other posers to the east are still sitting there, wallowing around in their own filth and blaming The Man while waiting for a handout.

And you enlightened bloggers who have never been here but think y'all have it figured out can put that in your pipes and smoke it.

I won't disagree with what you said about barrier islands and uber marshes, but I will disagree with your assessment of the people involved.

I also did two, one-week tours in and around the New Orleans area with a chain-saw crew after Katrina and another partial tour in Houma, LA as a damage assessor after Gustav (before Ike drove us out) and the people over there were exactly the same.

On the first trip, we worked the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain, from Madisonville to Slidell, with our "headquarters" being in Covington. We saw the same kind of things being done; neighbor helping neighbor and protecting each others property in their absence. I've literally had guns pulled on me in some of those neighborhoods by residents wanting to know what the hell I was doing there. And, they were deadly serious. I saw a home-made sign in the middle of a residential street which said, "Stop or get shot."

The people over there are just like the ones we met in Galveston and I could tell you a hundred similar stories, but I'll just stop with one:

We met an older gentleman, in his 70's, who was all over a particular neighborhood in Mandeville helping anyone who needed help. He dragged brush, prayed with people, brought them water and food; just anything he could. We ran into him more than once.

Anyhow, I finally stopped to chat with him and he revealed that he had a sister who lived down near Buras, where the storm came ashore, and she had not been heard from in what was then a week and a half. He'd been working so hard helping his neighbors that he just couldn't go look for her but, since they were now receiving help and the power was back on (in most places), he said he was finally going to see if he could find her. Can you imagine? How many of US would put off looking for a missing family member in order to help strangers? I dare say not many.

Our second mission was centered on Belle Chase, downstream and across the river from New Orleans, and we saw the same kinds of things down there, at least as far as Jesuit Bend. We couldn't go past there because the road were still flooded out.

Yeah, it was different in New Orleans, but it was because nobody was there. We drove through the city streets one night, about a few days after most of the flooding went down, and it was just totally deserted. Blackness and a putrid gray mud which covered everything is all there was, except for a few lights in the French Quarter.

The houses, what was left of them, were vacant, with missing or broken windows and doors staring like skull eyes out of the darkness. Every building had the ominous circle with an X signifying it had been checked and how many bodies had been found within. They were not yet all collected and there were still hundreds missing. The Lower Ninth Ward was a nightmare of jumbled, tangled wreckage and so was most of St. Bernard Parish and East New Orleans. Unless you saw it, you simply cannot imagine what an abandoned and destroyed urban area looks like. The survivors were gone, scattered all over the country and the only remaining people were disaster relief workers, cops, soldiers and a few die-hard criminals.

So, don't be so harsh in judgment of those folks. Yes, some were animals, but so would you have been if you'd been there. When civilization collapses in a single day, we ALL would become animals as that's our basic nature.