I'm passing along a report from the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) in
Chambers County, TX. It sort of gives you an idea of what we're dealing
with. Let me know if I'm boring you guys with this stuff and I'll quit
clogging bandwidth.
Here's more irony for you: The Ohio Guard only has about 2K troops left in
the state. Latest estimates are that there about 2M people without power
now. Apparently they're having trouble bringing people back online because
of all the appliances and air conditioners that were running when the grid
went down. The load is so great when the lines get reconnected that the
sheer current load knocks the substations back offline. Here's the rub:
They can't let people know that they need to shut off their appliances that
start with heavy loads because, well, there's no power to run TVs and
radios.
I spoke with my boss at the county today and he said that we've tripled our
normal 911 load in the last 24 hours. It's a mess all over.
Kyle
Sent from Kyle Cleveland's Palm IIIc
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15SEP08 - 1946 CDT
*Chambers** County* is a 599-square-mile county located in Texas within the
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. The 2005 census was 28,411
residents. Source: NACo
*Report from Chambers County EOC*: First of all, Ike was pretty much an
equal opportunity disaster. In other words, destruction happened from one
end of the county to the other. What we do see, is much more destruction in
the lower lying areas like Oak Island and Smith Point. For certain, Oak
Island is the community which we have seen the most extensive damage, and by
that I mean the entire community was almost completely destroyed. Most of
the houses are completely gone and by that I mean they actually are not
THERE.
Right now, the state focus is still search and rescue. Three persons were
found alive yesterday that washed ashore into Chambers County from Galveston
Co (Bolivar, Crystal Beach, etc.). Today, three more persons were found
alive. This is incredible. We have spoken to them and they have amazing
stories. However, there are also some who were not so fortunate. So, just so
you will understand, the state is trying to save as many lives as they can
right now, before it is too late. When they complete that, they will shift
into full-blown recovery.
We do not have food, water, and ice distribution points ready. We just now
today got email working. We are having severe communications trouble
throughout the county, but this is improving day by day. Many landlines, I
am told, are working. We are waiting on state resources consisting of food,
water, and ice. They say they are on the way, but we have only received one
truck and it went fast. When distribution does start, it will be at Cedar
Bayou Community building, Winnie Community Building, Barbers Hill Middle
School, and Anahuac High School. We are trying to set up shelters, but do
not have them ready. We are trying to get generators for shelters and food
etc. for the shelters. When we are able to establish this, we will
distribute the word about distribution points for food and water, as well as
shelters.
I have seen many electrical trucks flooding into the county to begin utility
repairs. We have no idea when services will be restored. We are not
prohibiting any residents from entering the county. There were some
misconceptions and rumors going around, but they are not true. We are not
making anyone leave, nor prohibiting them from entering as long as they are
a resident. We still have curfews, but that is to ensure persons that do not
belong here are not roaming the streets and stealing your stuff.
You have to understand, if you do return, we have nothing to give you at
this point. We have no shelters, no food, no water, and no ice. Hardly any
stores are open, even in Baytown and surrounding areas. Gas stations have
large lines, and shortages. We have police at stations that are open to
control problems.
Please try to understand the magnitude of this storm. It has possibly been
100 years since a storm causing this type of devastation has hit Chambers
County. We have estimated that the last storms this severe in our area were
in 1900 or 1915. If you have any questions, or want to check to see when
shelters or point of distribution (POD) sites will be open so you can pick
up food, water, or ice, please call the EOC at 409-267-8295.
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