Hurricane Ike: The Woodlands Evacuee Edition

September 15, 2008 / 11:21 am • By Dr. Melissa Clouthier

Hi all, I regret to tell you that I am not in The Woodlands right now, so I cannot go and check on your friends and relatives. I’m hoping that other people who read my blog and have a generator in The Woodlands will comment on their neighborhoods. I will take comments out of moderation, so people can write back and forth and share what they know. I will be on the road for the day and can update about my situation and will talk to friends and neighbors back home and update you that way. Sorry I can’t be of more help.

A word about why we left: Certain gas stations and the HEBs around town were getting food and gas, but the lines were long and not indicative of how they would get as people (including my family) ran out of food. We would have been fine for about a week, but we would need ice for perishables. As it is, we’ve lost a side of beef and the contents of our fridge. We gave away what we could to neighbors. It’s a shame to have it go to waste, but neighbors don’t have power or ice either.

Conroe Independent School District has a policy of only giving two-day cancellation notices. This is wholly irresponsible. I actually talked to people who were concerned about that and waiting to decide what to do. This is, of course, illogical. Without power, the schools won’t be going either. People should be making decisions, at this point, that will help them survive. Education is not even a third order priority at this point.

The difficult part of the decision to leave is that much of Houston, ironically, does have power. So, people are worried about being expected to work. But without power which means no air conditioning, and more importantly at a certain point, no washer and dryer, there is no way to stay sanitary. Also, this makes me think of trash and waste removal. Our garbage can was full when we left. I can’t imagine that we were the only ones in that situation.

My neighbors worry about leaving because of looting. That is a real concern considering that Houston does have power and so, the people in the outlying areas like the Woodlands are literally sitting ducks. Crime is not a problem in The Woodlands. Well, not a huge one. This is, however, Texas, and nearly everyone is armed, so there’s that.

Businesses, banks, medical buildings, imagine every small business you can think of, are without power. So a person might have food, but no work. The population of The Woodlands and Conroe area is very dense and I have to tell you that driving out of there yesterday, going up I-45 and not seeing one light until we reached Huntsville was bizarre.

From commenters reports and those of friends and family, The Woodlands area hasn’t been mentioned on the national news. That is unsurprising to me. I remember the Katrina coverage and it was like New Orleans was the city where Christ Himself was returning, probably to the roof of the Superdome. Galveston is the big news now. And it is big news, the area and surrounding areas are a catastrophe. Up here in The Woodlands, the loss is less severe in terms of homes and flooding. But there is still loss and significant loss. And the difficulty will be chronic and build as people run out of food and fuel and sit in their baking homes.

This picture sounds bleak, I suppose. Besides a boy dying after a tree fell on him, I have not heard of any loss of life in The Woodlands area. People are helping one another. Things are being cleaned up. Houses repaired. It could be worse. There are trees through peoples homes all over. And I imagine that with the attention the rest of the city is getting, The Woodlands residents will be a low priority. I don’t know.

Please feel free to exchange information here. Truly, I wish I could check on your family members. Thank you all for your well wishes.

Oh! When we left yesterday, we had no phone service from land lines, no power, and cell service was spotty. So, just because you don’t hear from family and friends doesn’t mean something is wrong. If they were like me, they took their frustration out on tree limbs in the yard yesterday. Everyone is okay, they just seem to be waiting to decide what to do.

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  • Diane

    Melissa,
    Thank you for your blog I have a sister in The Cove on Leeward Cove in the Woodlands. It is nice to hear something about the Woodlands.
    Diane
    Canada

  • Lisa

    I have family in The Woodlands and they are trying to find gas for their generator(s) in the neighborhood. They saw two men lurking around during the night. The stores they’ve seen are closed and the neighborhood streets are working together!

  • Lisa Caracci

    Hello, I am wondering if there is any way to check on my parents, who have no power, and no cell phone reception. I have been trying to reach them since yesterday. I am wondering also, if there is a web site where people can email/write in to check on others in the woodlands. They are the Caracci’s of Cochrans Crossing, South Copper Sage Circle
    I am wondering if anyone knows how difficult it is to get out of the woodlands, and possibly board a plane. Are the roads clear to Bush Airport?
    THanks so much, may everyone be safe,
    Lisa Caracci

  • Lisa

    Friends have just arrived bringing some supplies to family in The Woodlands. They drove in from Louisiana and made it through with some supplies for the the street my family live on. The word is that neighbors are sticking together. I’ll see if mine can check on yours but I’m not sure how easy that will be. I’m sure your parents are in the same situation. My family heard that The Woodlands may be out of power for awhile since the source? coming into there was damaged. Not sure what that means.

  • Lisa

    Hi Lisa,

    I meant to hit reply to your comment…I posted mine to the website.

  • Jen

    glad you guys are ok…ironically we lost power today (1 a.m to about 7 pm tonight) from Ike coming up north. I can’t imagine the winds you had…ours only reached close to 60mph and I was pretty worried seeing our big trees swaying like they were made of paper. Tim and I just kept saying..’what in the world must of it been like for you guys?’.

    keep us posted…we love you and you are in our prayers! oh and the Woodlands did make our local news the night of the hurricane. Someone has family there and our news got in contact with them.

    your NY family

  • cori lynn

    hi, sorry to bother you but my boyfriend lives on roslyn. he hasn’t had power for days, it’s so hard to communicate with him, the phones are always disconnecting &never last for more than a minute. i got his a plane ticket to iah as soon as i possibly could since i live out of state. sadly, he’s told me his car only has a tiny bit of gas in it. i’m so worried if the roads are clear enough for him to make it to the airport? will there be gas sold anywhere before this sunday? (9/21) i’m very sorry for what happened. i feel horrible for everyone in the area. i’m glad you got away.

  • Bradley

    We are from The Woodlands and just left to Austin today. There are lots of trees down all over the place and no power. For the person who asked about Copper Sage, we drove through there yesterday and the damage was mainly trees, some of them on houses, but nothing looked life threatening. Biggest issue is the lack of power.

  • DK

    My son and his family live in The Woodlands and they are fine, a few small tress lost and of course, no power. They have been told it could be up to 2 weeks before power. He had a generator in storage and when he went to get it from storage, he was held up at gunpoint (a shotgun) by 3 hispanic males who took the generator from him. We are in the DFW area and looked everywhere to buy one, but no luck. We borrowed one from a friend and met him in Corsicana to give to him. He said only a couple of grocery stores were open and gas was at a minimum. They filled their tanks before the storm, so they seem to be okay. Roads are okay to travel in the area.

  • Judy Isaacson

    My husband has a brother and sister-in-law who live in the Woodlands. We have been trying without success to reach them since Ike hit. We had talked to them the day before it hit, and they said they were staying, so we presume they are still there and doing the best they can to help themselves and others with the damages.

    We have made a donation to the local Red Cross for our small part.

    Thanks for your blog, Dr. Melissa.

  • Dee Dee

    Hi,

    My sister lives in Panther Creek. They need power. The water is fine. Trash pick-up is normal. Most of the grocery stores opened on Monday at noon, using generators for power. Lots of tree branches fell so there is lots of yard work to do. At least it has been 60-63 degrees at night and comfortable for sleeping.

    Over 200 Entergy employees arrived in Montgomery County (Woodlands area) on Monday, ready to work to get the electricity restored. They came from Louisiana, where they had been working on outages from Gustav. That’s a good sign that the power will be back on soon.

  • http://rattledbaby.com Brad

    We left Sunday morning and had no problem going down I-45 to the Beltway, so you should be able to get to IAH easily, assuming you have enough gas and can get a flight. The Sam’s Club gas station is supposed to have gas sometime on Tuesday, although they ran out on Monday (according to Chron.com)

  • http://rattledbaby.com Brad

    I tried to include a few links in an earlier reply, but I think that caused my comment not to be posted…

    Conroe ISD is closed all week according to their website: conroeisd.net

    Also, for those of you in the Woodlands trying to figure out when you will get power, see this site: entergytexas.com/outages/tx.aspx

    They do not have updates as far as when they expect power to be restored yet, but hopefully that information will be forthcoming shortly!

  • Charles Rivera

    I want you to know that we here in Florida are SOLIDLY behind, and alongside, you all.
    We have sent thousands of Utility Workers, Electrical, Water, Wastewater, to Texas to help out any way we can! We have American Red Cross from Florida already there. The Florida Salvation Army is also there. Our Churches were there before and now after the Hurricane.

    Florida experiences Hurricanes very regularly and so we know your pain. All too well.
    You are not alone and we are doing our very best to help out.

    Many of us are working to the point of near exhaustion to get your Electrical power back up. Others priority is getting the Water flowing. Others priority is to get the Wastewater flowing to the stations.
    Every single body is doing their small part, but if you multiply that by the thousands of a qualified work force you will see the effects of it.

    Don’t be discouraged. Look around and you will see thousands of folks from OUT OF TEXAS kicking it into high gear.

    I used to Live in Houston and this Hurricane has affected me.
    I have friends in Katy, Houston and of course the Woodlands! Hello Jenny and Family!

    God Bless Everyone!

    with highest regards,

    Charles Rivera
    Orlando, Florida USA

  • Viola

    Germany knew that The Woodlands was hit through the news. I was able to get a hold of some friends with our sprint cell phone.

  • Hans Fritsch

    My wife, 2 daughters, and I live in Haydens Run on Cochrans Crossing. This event has been a tremendous opportunity for people to come together as my neighbors and I have been removing trees and debris all weekend, and Sunday night we had a cookout as all meat was set to expire. Do not worry about relatives as they should be fine, albeit without electricity. We are currently staying with relatives in Cypress and there seems to be ample fuel and food here. We will restock food and supplies for neighbors and friends and return this evening. The extremely bad news is that the power may not be restored for 2 – 3 weeks as the power lines leading to the Woodlands are reportedly devastated and will need to be completely rebuilt. Cell and land line phones are pretty much inactive within the Woodlands, but we picked up relatives at the airport yesterday and were able to make and receive calls when we left the Woodlands.

  • Jennifer

    I live in the Neighborhood of Meadowmist in Cochrans Crossing, We left today because of lack of internet/power and since schools were out all week. As mentioned by others, lots of tree damage but no flooding that I’ve heard/seen in The Woodlands. Also – we do have clean water and gas for those that have gas stoves and gas hot water heaters. It is bearable especially with the cool front that moved in Sun Night. What a BLESSING. Also – Neighbors are getting to know each other and are checking on each other and kids are playing in the streets instead of hiding in their houses on computers (a good thing for us big kids to take notice of too!!). Power restoration is spotty – we have friends within 1/2 mile to the North and South of us on Cocharans crossing road that had power restored today yet we still do not have power according to our immediate neighbors. We are all very lucky – so many trees down yet relatively few that destroyed/damaged homes…amazing. Try not to worry about friends/family – it has just been nearly impossible to get in contact with the outside world.

  • Eric

    Hi Melissa!

    I evacuated TO the woodlands from the jersey village area to be with the in laws… We’re not doing too bad, but the reason that the media isn’t covering TW is because it’s 93% white, average family income of 99k/year. That’s not to say that we’re not going through as much, but along with new territory, parts of katy, and some of champions, we’re the richest part of Houston..!

  • kirsten

    I have not yet ventured out of my neighborhood, but the Grogans Mill area of The Woodlands had power restored last night at 10pm. According to the Entergy Web site, they have restored approximately 30,000 customers.
    I am so grateful to be one of them. I have family in other parts of Montgomery county still without, including one family who literally lives within site of the Lewis power plant.

  • Tena Jones

    Found your website Sat. with your early a.m. comments about Ike’s winds, etc.; then nothing. Figured you lost power. Checked back today – am very thankful for your update. It gave us a good clue about power in your area as we had been trying to reach friends in The Woodlands. We lived in Panther Creek during Alicia’s arrival in 1983, then moved back to Fort Myers, Florida in 1984. After Charley (04) & Wilma (05), we know about land line & cell phone coverage. We lost land lines within 24 hours due to lack of backup power at the local telephone company. Our Alltel phones always worked; but other family with Nextel were not so lucky – it’s a power thing.

    We have always prepared for hurricanes, being from Florida. People used to laugh at us because we would lay in a supply of food and water, batteries, gas up the cars, etc. – they don’t any more! We installed storm shutters after Andrew, & acquired our first generator after Charlie. Our second & larger generator runs off regular gas or propane or natural gas – lots of options.

    You’re right, the media centers on the area with the most dramatic devastation, while there are many other areas with it just as bad. Bet you never heard about Wauchula or Arcadia (Florida), but plenty about Punta Gorda after Charlie! Those power trucks from Cinergy in Ohio that came to our neighborhood were the most beautiful thing I’d seen in a long time.

    Again, thanks for your blog. We hope things go well for you & your family, as well as for everyone in The Woodlands, Galveston, Houston, etc. Hang in there. It does get better, gradually.

  • Ashley

    Hey everyone. Power back in at least some of Grogan’s Mill. For those of you with family here, please now that absolutely everyone I’ve seen seems to be absolutely fine, we are just out of touch with the whole world. No cell phones, land lines, power, etc. We’re all very safe, though. It’s been very frustrating knowing that people are worried, but we can’t call out or anything. Hope this helps. The Woodlands’ power should be 80% up by Friday.

  • Pingback: Hurricane Ike: The Woodlands, Texas, Power Returning–Updated « Blog Entry « Dr. Melissa Clouthier

  • rick dassinger

    hello
    is this you?
    email if you can, i’d love to catch up with everything

    how’s alex?

    your lost friend,
    rick