Well, I guess we've officially survived our first hurricane since moving to Houston. While we weren't affected as much as many others, I figured it was worth making note of!
About a week before the storm hit, a tropical storm bringing 18-20" of rain was being predicted. While, yes, this is a whole lot of rain, I wasn't really all that concerned because 1) we were leaving for the weekend and 2) about a month before a tropical storm was predicted and it never even rained that day. So, I went about my week like normal, and then on Thursday morning, I went to the grocery store to shop for the weekend and thought, "oh I'll just grab a case of water, just in case". Well, no water, very little fruit, no eggs, and lines forming around the store. Ok, so maybe this was going to be a bigger deal than I originally thought. By afternoon, they had upgraded it to a hurricane, but only a category 1/2. After my workout that afternoon, I stopped to fill up with gas on the way home (for our trip) and found chaos at the pumps too. Everyone was trying to fill up, and after I got waited in line and got 13cents worth of gas, they ran out and all the pumps shut off! Luckily, we found another gas station that still had gas, but this was definitely a new experience!
When we left Friday, it had started raining, and we knew it probably was going to be quite a storm, but I don't think anyone was quite prepared for just how bad the storm was. Thankfully, we avoided the worst of it in Austin over the weekend, but our drive home was oh so fun, through closed interstates and flooding side roads. Pretty crazy how quickly things were flooded.
Pretty much every store and road was shut down Sunday-Tuesday morning, which meant hanging around home. Tuesday a few stores opened with limited hours and this continued for most of the week. Thankfully, the second round that they had predicted Wednesday-Thursday went farther east than they originally thought, so we were spared another deluge of heavy rains. I think the total most places across Houston was 30-50" depending on your area. When the stores opened, even up north by us, it was like apocalypse had happened. No bread, no milk and very few meats and eggs. You took what you could get. I think it was a solid week before I saw milk again, and I never thought it would such a happy sight!
Of course, we are so thankful that our house stayed dry. It was not the same for so many people that we know and areas just a mile or two away. I think that is the craziest part of this storm; that it was so sporadic in the flooding. I think everyone that lives in Houston either was flooded or knew people how were flooded. Some couldn't even get back in their homes for a month because the water levels were so high! For Kristy and Konrad, they were able to get back in within 36 hours, and although it was sad to see how much damage even only 1.5 feet of water can do in a house, they were able to get everything out before the mold started. Many days of hard work from many, many volunteers. Another truly amazing thing about this storm, is just how incredible the volunteers and donations were and continue to be. Those first few days after stores opened, I didn't see a single cart that wasn't loaded with things for donations--water, pillows, blankets, etc.
Now, about a month later, the water has receded, but so many are still left with nothing. Kristy and Konrad have been staying at our house while we are gone, but there's still a long way to go on their rebuild and they were one of the first to get a contractor. They also have flood insurance, and so many people in Houston did not so it will be hard for them to rebuild. We pray that donations and volunteers will continue to make their way to those that need it the most in the coming months!
When we left Friday, it had started raining, and we knew it probably was going to be quite a storm, but I don't think anyone was quite prepared for just how bad the storm was. Thankfully, we avoided the worst of it in Austin over the weekend, but our drive home was oh so fun, through closed interstates and flooding side roads. Pretty crazy how quickly things were flooded.
Pretty much every store and road was shut down Sunday-Tuesday morning, which meant hanging around home. Tuesday a few stores opened with limited hours and this continued for most of the week. Thankfully, the second round that they had predicted Wednesday-Thursday went farther east than they originally thought, so we were spared another deluge of heavy rains. I think the total most places across Houston was 30-50" depending on your area. When the stores opened, even up north by us, it was like apocalypse had happened. No bread, no milk and very few meats and eggs. You took what you could get. I think it was a solid week before I saw milk again, and I never thought it would such a happy sight!
Of course, we are so thankful that our house stayed dry. It was not the same for so many people that we know and areas just a mile or two away. I think that is the craziest part of this storm; that it was so sporadic in the flooding. I think everyone that lives in Houston either was flooded or knew people how were flooded. Some couldn't even get back in their homes for a month because the water levels were so high! For Kristy and Konrad, they were able to get back in within 36 hours, and although it was sad to see how much damage even only 1.5 feet of water can do in a house, they were able to get everything out before the mold started. Many days of hard work from many, many volunteers. Another truly amazing thing about this storm, is just how incredible the volunteers and donations were and continue to be. Those first few days after stores opened, I didn't see a single cart that wasn't loaded with things for donations--water, pillows, blankets, etc.
Now, about a month later, the water has receded, but so many are still left with nothing. Kristy and Konrad have been staying at our house while we are gone, but there's still a long way to go on their rebuild and they were one of the first to get a contractor. They also have flood insurance, and so many people in Houston did not so it will be hard for them to rebuild. We pray that donations and volunteers will continue to make their way to those that need it the most in the coming months!
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