What did you learn from Ike? Share your Ike experience.

[Liberty]

I learned:

• Its only a house.
• When you evacuate, what you leave behind might not be there.
• Take all your pets, get tranquellizers ahead of time.
• Do not listen to the Politicians. Take all the vehicles you can.
• The Government won't help those who live responsibly, You are on your own FEMA is useless.
• The Government is not here to help, They are not your friend.
• Refrigerators float.
• Refergerators really smell bad when left without power for 2 weeks
• Bring guns when you evacuate.
• Flooded houses stink, After 2 weeks even the roaches leave.
• Salt water destroys almost anything it touches. Trees, walls books computers.
• The city cares more about boutique shops than the citizens that live there.
• Insurance adjusters exist to save insurance companies money.
• Good friends and family is the only true valuable
• Hurricanes surely are a powerful force
• major gains are really a series of small gains and accomplishments
• Hotel rooms get smaller and smaller with every day. It takes a special woman to put up with me so long in such tight quarters
• That when your feeling miserable and feeling sorry for your self is typically when you learn how much harder it is for the guy next to you
• One of the greatest feelings in the world is sharing a meal with a stranger
• Most people are really nice
• God really does answer our prayers
• Generators don't work well once dunked in four feet of water
• Dorothy had a point, There's no place like home.
• We really did have more stuff than we really need. Some stuff is only stuff.
• Books work well without electricity
• I learned what being tired really is
• Some of my neighbors are really nice people
• Paradise has its price

[Venus Pax]

5. Natural gas clothes dryers will work on most generators, while electric dryers are too much demand for typical 5000-8000W home generators. Keep that in mind if you're shopping for new washer/dryers.

What effect will this have on a gas dryer? I lost a hair appliance using a generator, and was later told that generator power is not as safe for appliances as electric power.


1. It's good to prepare for an influx of relatives, but relatives with flooded homes might just get power before you do.
2. Washaterias are crowded when half of the community still doesn't have power.
3. Eating out actually gets old.
4. Mars likes to fish.
5. My dog is a real trooper.
6. Cats do not enjoy evacuating.
7. You can never have too many extra gas cans.
8. Ice doesn't last very long in a cooler.
9. Mars is still a picky eater, even though modern appliances are not operable.
10. Walkie talkies are great when you can't use your cell phone.
11. Evacuation kits packed in advance are great.
12. Don't forget your flashlights and extra batteries in your evacuation kits.
13. A gas powered generator gets expensive to run as time goes on.
14. A generator will fry a Chi iron.
15. My hair returns to the late 1980s when I can't use a Chi iron.
16. It's really dark on my street when there isn't any power.
17. I'm really glad I have guns and ample ammunition handy, especially when my street is dark and there is no power.
18. Keeping gas tanks filled is wise.
19. My brother and my husband's sister were excellent at getting information from and to us.
20. We are blessed.

[rm9792]

9. Mars is still a picky eater, even though modern appliances are not operable.

The wise Kelly Bundy once said "you may draw more flies with honey, but if you pull off their wings they will eat whatever you feed them."

[longtooth]

Nut shell answer.

That hurricane parties (after the blow) in Angelina County are not as described by Galveston & New Orleans residents.

[HankB]

1. Weather forecasters on TV are not reliable.

2. Living just west of Austin is better than living in and around Galveston or Houston.

[nitrogen]

We're in DFW and didn't get any real bad stuff.

But my wife was finally woken up, and now sees that I'm not "some nutty survivalist gun wacko" when it comes to these things.

[bridge]

-Once a hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico NOAA can only tell us that it will hit some where between Brownsville and Tampa
-Hurricane models shift north at night and revert south in the morning
-Living near a sewage treatment plant or pump station is a good thing...you get your power back first, if you lost it at all
-Corporate America is more concerned with keeping the store open as long as possible and could care less about your personal safety
-Your wife and mother-in-law will not top off their tanks unless specifically told to do so
-Hurrication- the act of making the most out of an evacuation. Hell, if you've got nothing to return to you might as well live it up
-Save all your receipts
-MRE's aren't all that bad...stay away from the short bread cookies though.
-Evac more than just 100 miles
-FEMA allocated the cell-phone bandwidth...lesson learned from Rita (cell phone service didn't get bad unitl after 5pm Saturday). Text messages are the only way to communicate
-DishNetwork works in 80mph winds, Directv craps out at 30mph
-There is no such thing as too much bottled water
-If you take a cruise out of Galveston in the Summer months let a cab drop you off at the terminal and leave your car at home (all those people on that cruise lost their cars to the surge)

[jamey]

5. Natural gas clothes dryers will work on most generators, while electric dryers are too much demand for typical 5000-8000W home generators. Keep that in mind if you're shopping for new washer/dryers.

What effect will this have on a gas dryer? I lost a hair appliance using a generator, and was later told that generator power is not as safe for appliances as electric power.

Usually when people burn things up while using a generator they are doing one of a these things:
1) Overloading the generator to the point that the generator cannot produce enough instantaneous power to start an additional electric motor. For example, having lots of lights and fans turned on and then trying to start up the microwave.
2) Trying to start up an electric motor that is too big for the generator to run (trying to run their central A/C on a little generator).
3) Starting up the generator with everything plugged in (generator under load).
4) Letting the generator run out of gas with everything plugged in (not that much of an issue except with sensitive electronics).
5) Running sensitive electronics (computer, TV) on a generator without a good surge protector, especially if doing #3 or #4.

Most homeowner generators (10-13HP, 5000-8000W) will handle a clothes washing machine OR a gas clothes dryer if there is not much additional load on the generator at the time. I and several of my neighbors and friends were able to do laundry under generator power, but only those with gas dryers could dry clothes without hanging them outside.


Jamey

[Liberty]

5. Natural gas clothes dryers will work on most generators, while electric dryers are too much demand for typical 5000-8000W home generators. Keep that in mind if you're shopping for new washer/dryers.

What effect will this have on a gas dryer? I lost a hair appliance using a generator, and was later told that generator power is not as safe for appliances as electric power.

I know a bit about CHI appliances.

The ChI is particularly sensitive about power surges. It uses vey lightweight power regulation and no isolation (transformers) from the AC power. They offer intermitent power usage of up to about 10 amps 1500 watts. and so the generator tends to bog down and race trying to compensate for it. The only devices I can think of that might have the same issues would be a microwave. But even they have better power supplies and don't cycle in quite the same way. The CHI hair iron turns power on and off in a digital way to maintain temperature.

[anygunanywhere]

-DishNetwork works in 80mph winds, Directv craps out at 30mph

I did not lose my Directv at all....until lights out at 05:30.

Anygunanywhere

[pdubyoo]

- God answers prayer...big time.
- An "it's just a category 2 hurricane" packs a substantial whollup! Thank God it wasn't any more powerful.
- If you evacuate, leave your answering machine turned on. If you're out of town and are wondering if the power is back on at home, you can call your answering machine. If you get your recording, the power is on!
- Unplug everything you can when you evacuate (except your answering machine). Power fluctuations can really play havic on your electrical appliances.
- It's amazing how a hurricane, or other disasters bring neighbors together.
- Take as many vehicles as you can when you evacuate.
- Oak trees don't bend...any! They will break however.
- Even though pine trees bend, they will also break.
- Fill your jerry cans up as soon as you know there's a fair chance the storm is heading for you.
- Cats hate to travel in the van...we just had to get one!
- Shortages at the grocery store turn otherwise decent people into monsters. I'm ashamed of some of you...you know who you are!
- I'm amazed at how many "entitlement socialists" there are among us. They have their hand out even when they don't have a need...especially when there are others around them that are in desperate need. I'm ashamed of them too! Texans (native or not) are much better than that...and if you don't like it, you can go back where you came from!
- Fire wood is really cheap right now!!!!

[Venus Pax]

Thanks, jamey & Liberty.

[Nazrat]

My wife learned that purchasing a generator and more than 50 gallons of gas was not a waste of money.

Our neighborhood also gets really dark at night with no electricity. It is a funny thing.

Having enough weapons and ammunition really help the stress caused by bumps in the night.

Living one county from the coastline is priceless.

Fences and gates don't like high winds. In fact, my metal gate didn't like the storm either.

My house is stronger than I thought although it really likes to creak under 90 mph winds.

It is better to not have power and live on a generator than to regain power and then lose it a few hours later after you packed up the extension cords.

I will own a window unit before the next storm as sleeping on the living room floor with wife, 2 kids and 2 cats is not my idea of fun.

Cell phones are completely unreliable except for text messages.

Having statewide conference calls for your state agency on your cell phone gets expensive (I hope they reimburse me.).

It is hard to explain to Austin that restoring power to a mandatory evacuation county does not equal "time to reopen."

Don't let anyone change your office's SOP for storms during the storm just because someone wants to issue a press release.

The cone of uncertainty is your friend. Explaining the cone to Austin is impossible. Every storm in Austin comes with a straight line and a steering wheel. Unfortunately, every storm outside of Austin seems to include Beaumont/Port Arthur in the cone.

4 named storms in one calendar year adds a lot of new bookmarks to your web browser. ;)

Hurrication is nice as long as something happens when you flip a light switch. If nothing happens, hurrication is overrated.

[stevie_d_64]

1. 18 days is a long time without real power...

2. Chainsaws are therapeudic...

3. Folding furniture make for a nice alternative while the stuff in the house is still up on blocks...Besides, we were lucky to have some decent (relatively cool and breezy) weather roll thru after the storm...

4. A trip to the ATM, pre-storm, for a little folding money is a good prep...You can always put it back in if you don't need it...

5. When you are encouraged to fill up the tanks in your vehicles...It is not intended so you can go sight-seeing after the storm...(I have an extreme problem with the external looky loos scoping out the nieghborhoods, but thats just my personal issue...)

6. "Hunker Down" from a position of strength before hand...Unless you like driving and waiting in lines for ice, gas, food, etc etc etc...Some things you may have to go get, after a while, but it sure is better to keep close to the perimeter for at least the first few days if possible...(Personal opinion)

7. Generator security is paramount...Make sure you keep it out of sight (its hard to keep it quiet, obviously), and the gas supply as secure and safe as possible...An anchor point to lock and chain the generator to keep it from walking is preaching to the choir...

[B3XD]

1. Have land lines ( 2), 3 DIFFERENT CELL PHONE VENDORS, AND A BLACKBERRY. By Sunday night, all were not working. Even with a UPS to charge them. Text messages lasted the longest.

2. Generators are evil. Get battery operated fans.

3. Reduce stuff in refrigerator before storm.

4. Prepare to eat well.

5. Don't rely on one form of energy. Have electric, gas, and propane available as needed.