This is an eyewitness email that we got from one of our relatives who stay in Houston. Only posting relevant portions and removing all names from the email.
“Thursday, September 11 at noon most people went home to prepare for hurricane Ike including me. Many like me stayed home and did not evacuate. We are 45 miles from Galveston or shore line so we were not in direct line of first hit.
Friday was a quiet day, watching TV and watching people evacuating and seeing people in line for gas (petrol).
Friday night, Saturday morning 2:00 A.M. I woke up with window screen hitting the window. Electric power was gone. I went out and was windy about 80-90 miles per hour speed. Our fence was down and so was neighbor’s. Screen I went to get already was gone. In the morning with day light we saw lots of trees on the street and debris all over. Wind lasted until 2:00 P.M. Saturday. Water supply was gone out.
There is no electric power and phone at home today. Cell phones were not working first few days but now cell phone’s batteries were out. Water we had collected in tub and buckets so we were able to flush toilets and wash and take shower. Late Monday water supply resumed. We had made extra ice to save frozen food. Ice lasted about two days. Monday we got 2 bags of ice and Tuesday we got 3 bags of ice from disaster relief. We have portable gas stove and have enough gas bottles that we are using to cook frozen food.
It is not bad. It is just like living in Kutch like in early days or camping with nice bed and walls.
You and rest of the world were able to watch news about Ike’s devastation in Galveston and over 200 miles of area around Galveston , but we were not!
Wife’s company has lost electric power so she is home. Son’s college has no power so he is home. University of Houston generates its own power and their power lines are under ground. This was designed 50 years before, incase there was nuclear attack. So U of H was operational from Tuesday and Son spent all day there, charged one cell phone. ”