by Thomas Shuster

Created on: October 24, 2008

Living in the Gulf Coast area, we always prepare for hurricane season, and watch every storm with a close eye. Hurricane Ike was no different, we watched as it grew in size, and slowly navigated through the warm waters of the Gulf. I am not old enough to remember hurricane Alicia in 1983, so Ike was my first hurricane to weather. We still hoped Ike would turn away from us, since it was beginning to become a stronger storm. We knew we would lose power, so we all went to sleep with flashlights near us, and other forms of lighting handy. That night, we watched, as the hours slowly passed, and Ike crept closer and closer to us. It seemed to take forever, as the storm was only moving ten to twelve miles an hour.

We were staying at my parents house that night, not really knowing what to expect the next morning, prepared to move to shelter if needed. We had our plans set, and everyone knew where they were going, and what to grab. We tucked the kids into bed, they only knew that it was going to rain and be really windy, we didnt want to worry them more than needed. My wife and I would take the kids and move to the closet under the stairs, my parents the bathroom across the hall from the closet. We already had supplies in both rooms, to help keep the scramble to a minimum panic. I awoke at about three thirty in the morning, to the sound of strong howling wind outside, and an eerie quietness inside. Thats when we realized the power was out, preparing for the long duration of no power, we began to unplug everything. It was this point that I realized, we were in the worst of the storm. I grabbed my flashlight, and went about checking the rest of the house. All the windows were still intact, but there was a thumping noise, and I was about to go outside and check. I walked to the door, put my hand on the knob, then it hit me. I would likely not make it back into the house, as the winds were well over 80 miles an hour. I went back upstairs, listening to the wind howl.

The kids woke up at this point, our daughter ending up in our room with us, my mother slept with our son to help keep him calm. We all returned to our sleeping areas, myself staying awake listening to the wind, and wondering if we should move to our safe places or not. I ended up falling asleep, only to wake a few hours later, the worst of the storm having past now. We walked outside, surveying the damage to our house, and then checking on our neighbors. We consider ourselves very lucky, as we sustained no damage to our house. Our neighbors were very fortunate as well, as no one sustained any major damages. We all bonded as neighbors, and helped each other clean up. We then began to survey the other parts of our area, the devistation was beginning to become clear, some buildings were missing walls, others were missing roofs. It wasnt until we gained power back that we began to see the full extent of Ike's wrath. The Galveston area lie in ruins, water logged homes stand empty, some barely standing. Cars tossed about, like childs play toys. The one image that still lingers in the back of my mind, seeing all the boats standing on the highway. I have been down there since the storm, the boats are now lining the side of the highway, homes are beginning to be rebuilt and cleaned out.

I can only imagine the pain and and anguish felt by those who lost everything, the feeling of not knowing where to begin picking up. Watching the news, and seeing the devistation of the areas no one is able to get to yet, that only humbles me. Knowing just how lucky we were, to have survived with minimal damage, and a lack of power for a mere 12 hours. I have spoke to a few survivors, and to hear them talk, it makes me realize just how bad it is for them.

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