Riding Ike
It’s 5:30 p.m. CT and Ike is drawing closer.
• Houston’s freeways will close at 6:30 p.m.
• Our mayor has imposed a curfew, effective at 7 p.m., for areas covered by the mandatory evacuation.
• Reportedly, some 40% of Galveston’s population — 20,000 people — has ignored that city’s mandatory evacuation order. According to the National Weather Service, those people face “certain death.”
• People in the Houston area are likely to be without power for days, if not weeks.
• Wherever you live, this storm will affect you:
It’s the industry of Houston that I’m worried about. Not only could we be looking at the most expensive hurricane in history, but the destruction of energy infrastructure could put the nation in real difficulty. We have refused to build infrastructure for many years; now we may lose some of what we have.
Added at 6 p.m. CT —
I’m in the Houston Heights with my best friend. We spent much of the morning boarding up the windows to his house. We also primed the generator so that we have juice when the inevitable power loss comes. Now my bud is in kitchen, making brownies.
Added at 10 p.m. CT —
• The winds are now kicking up here in central Houston, but still no rain.
• Ike’s outer bands are just beginning to come ashore in Galveston, where, according to the local news, fires are burning.
• Even before the storm arrives in force, CenterPoint Energy says that already 315,000 people are without power. Here in the Heights, the power is still on, as is the cable service.
• Parts of Ft. Bend County are now under curfew, and officials there say violators face $500 fines.
Added at 10:39 p.m. —
We just lost power. But the cable is still on.