Post Ike Recovery Week 2

I spent all week desperate for information about home and a friend started sending out email updates each day and put together a website http://www.tikiislandnews.com/ for us to get information. The water system was working, but it did not have a lot of pressure and we were under a boil notice and of course we had no power or sewer system.

Beginning on day 8, Tiki residents were allowed to stay overnight so Hunter went up to start the recovery process. He and our contractor were able to clean out all the debris from under the house and in the yard; salvage and clean what he could; scoop then power wash the mud off the dock, tile patio and driveway; repair the breakaway wall; and remove the sheetrock in both rooms that first week. Of course this had to be done for several days without any power or hot water. He slept at the house with the windows open and made coffee by boiling water on our propane grill. About mid week, the power came on and the water was turned back on. By the end of the week he had a temporary gas tank hooked up for hot water and could flush the toilets. We were back in business.

The debris piles were growing at the street. Our cul-de-sac had four piles the size of school buses grow during this week. FEMA brought their trucks in and removed the piles. This made our street look much further along in the clean up process than other streets are, but it is still a long way to back to normal.

Look and Leave day

On the Tuesday after the storm we were allowed to come back and look at the neighborhood. Looking back on it, this was just 3 days after the storm, but it seemed like forever between the evacuation and going back to check on the house. We drove up with the Tahoe, my van and a U-Haul hoping to recover our clothes, art and rugs.

The scene driving in was incredible. The freeway in Richmond and Sugarland was eerily quiet. Homes in Pearland were covered in trees and the lines to get gas stretched for miles. Debris piles along the sides of the highway and down the median started ten miles North of Tiki Island and were taller than my van. Bayou Vista looked like a war zone with boats and trailers on all the green spaces and along the roads. The Highway from Bayou Vista to Tiki Island had been covered in boats and debris hindering first responders getting into Galveston. This debris was just pushed to the sides of the road to allow a couple of lanes of traffic to pass.

The checkpoints began pretty far from Tiki. David, Hunter’s brother, was driving my van with me as the passenger. He would pass my resident card and ID over and we would be scrutinized by the police before being allowed to continue to the next stop. It took us over an hour to go about 10 miles. Hunter was almost turned around at the entrance to Tiki because we had the U-Haul with us.

The scene inside Tiki was no different than the other communities we had passed. Boats and outdoor furniture littered the lawns and canals. Jet Ski’s that you have never seen before were up in peoples’ flower beds. Most homes had lost the downstairs walls, garage doors and or outside stairs. Cars were flipped over or were found sideways inside their own garages. Hardly anyone had their own boat in their boathouse or yard.

I was ecstatic (to use a Fancy Nancy word) when I saw my house standing- with the roof still attached. It was a day of complete awe. We had a foot of very slippery mud covering every downstairs surface which made for some treacherous investigations. The breezeway was filled in with debris- most of which did not belong to me. The Tackle room doors blew off (probably were pushed in from the water pressure and then floated out). The freezer was still in there, but had obviously been swept up and banged around. A portion of the wall on the “apartment” side broke away allowing the contents of that room to be washed away.

The boat was caught in the slings by the motor and was pretty banged up. The cowling had sheared away on the main motor and caused damage to the roof of the boat house. When the water receded, the boat got caught and hung at a pretty severe angle by the bracket.

Yet, upstairs most things were fine. We had some water spots on the ceilings, but not too much and no obvious gaping holes in the roof. Our contractor had boarded up the house and he did an amazing job.

Not knowing when we would be able to move back in and not wanting mold to attack out entire lives, we moved all of our artwork and framed pictures to Hunter’s office in Houston. We also took our Oriental Rugs (purchased in Singapore) and all of our clothes. We figured we could work with whatever we found when we got back to the house. Of course we also had to clean out the fridge and freezer that had been without power for 5 days. Hunter was awesome and had it finished before I even came down from packing up clothes.

Our church and school

http://www.trinitygalv.org/

http://www.tesgalv.org/

Trinity church and Trinity Episcopal school are located on the East End of Galveston Island (near Rosenberg library). Our church is over 150 years old and withstood the 1900 Storm and a cannonball during WWI. It remained standing in this storm, but took on water of course, both from surge and rain. One of our stained glass windows (built by the Tiffany studios in early 1900’s) lost a section and the rain caused some other damage. You can see pictures and follow the progress at the church website.

Caroline’s school is attached to the church. The first floor (including her classroom) had several feet of water which basically wiped out the supplies and furniture in her classroom. Caroline’s classroom was left with a marker board and bulletin board after the remediation people got through with it. The school is determined to reopen and is aiming for a late October date. We will reopen the second floor with as many students and teachers as we can and work from there.

If you or a group you work with is looking for a way to help the victims of IKE, I encourage you to choose a church or school on or near the island and donate directly to them. Most schools have lost their books, supplies and manipulatives.

Port Aransas ISD

Monday morning we went to HG Olsen Elementary to enroll Caroline in Kindergarten. Hunter attended elementary school here which made it more fun for Caroline. Of course, in a small town you also have connections to the teacher (Georgia’s friend’s daughter) and the students.

The school was happy to have us and had a pile of supplies ready to give to Caroline so she would not arrive empty handed. Because we do not have a “home address” we were registered as homeless. As a teacher I understand why we were labeled that way (we don’t need to have all the paperwork like shot records and transcripts to enroll), but it is a horrifying feeling to have that label attached to you.

When we entered the classroom, Tres (son of our friends, Randy and Wendy) stood up, put his hands on his hips and said, “I told ya’ll she was comin’.” The kids and teacher were great and very welcoming. It was pretty different for Caroline to go from a class of 9 with a fairly academic schedule and uniforms to an old fashioned kindergarten with 23 kids. She told me at the end of the week, "These kids don’t even know how to read!” Not that Caroline is reading novels, but we did add some new sight words to her “reading ring” to make her feel better.

The Evacuation

We got word on Wednesday that the storm was turning so we started packing up and decided to leave on Thursday morning. Caroline and I left in the van and Hunter and Cia followed a few hours later. Wednesday night, we were still not sure where we were headed, but as of Thursday we figured it was safe to go to Corpus Christi. Caroline and I talked about why we were running from the storm and she wanted to stay so she could see the storm. Last spring we met the Hurricane Hunters and toured their plane. I guess if they can “see the storm” we should be able to too. She finally understood why it was not safe to stay and began to tell people about running away from the storm.
So, we went to David and Jessica’s house for a few fun filled days of cousin time. Because Hunter and I were drawn to constant weather channel and we were trying to shelter Caroline from the footage, we decided to send Adelyn, John and Caroline to hang out with Mimi and Papa for awhile. We began working the pause feature early Friday night on three different televisions. We would fast forward through the coverage searching for landmarks and good information. I have never had my knowledge of landmarks so taxed before.
On Sunday, we decided that Caroline needed to get back to school to have some structure and socialization. We did not know how long we would be out of our home and Port Aransas seemed like a good fit for us. Caroline already knew two of the kindergartners that live near Hunter’s parents. So, we moved in with Georgia and Duncan (Mimi and Papa) in Port Aransas.