I had no idea. Thanks for letting us know how bad it is.
I wonder if writing to my Senators and Representatives would help.
Can't hurt so will do it. Do you mind if I use your post?

It is sad, and Galveston has seen such destruction before too. I think it is good that the state is considering whether or not to let people rebuild in the area as it is such a dangerous place to build a home. I read the news reports informing us that Galveston is the worst place to build in the USA. Somehow, we have to rethink the responsibilities the tax payers owe to those who live where there is such high risk.

Carol, I don't mind if you use the post. I've gotten the info from our local TV news & the Houston Chronicle. We went to Galveston on 10-19. I just started crying when I saw how bad it was 5 wks. later. On the news tonight they were saying something about how the debris is being piled up by contractors, but not being taken off the island yet. The Galveston economy is based on tourism & the Oct. Bikefest didn't happen, nor the Oktoberfest (a damaged chuch, with the help of many volunteers, pulled off an "Ike's Over Fest") and it's questionable if the Dec. "Dickens on the Strand" is gonna happen. The tent people were moved today to a more permanent tent area with showers, etc. I'd heard a few weeks back that it'll take 2-3 yrs. before things are back to "normal" there. Yeah, years, and a WHOLE lot of money. About a week or so after Ike hit, the mayors of Galveston & Houston (yeah, Houston got hit, too!!) went to D.C. to beg for funds. But nothing much is happening yet on Galveston. (Houston is big enough to get past this with without much Federal help; Galveston isn't.)

It's a shame that we are spending all our money in Iraq when we need it so badly at home.

Linda

Look at all the money being spent on the political campaigns that go on for years it seems. At least Canada's is over in just a few months. Katrina victims are still going under hard times too. My heart goes out to all of you.

Please remember that it wasn't just the big towns like Galveston and Houston that were hit hard. Towns like Bridge City, which is between Orange and Port Arthur,TX is almost wiped out. Not but about 20 or so homes were not devasted by it. And in Orange also. I type from a borrowed RV because my home was flooded. Just remember all of us in your prayers.

Yorki, we have extended family in Bridge City.....some of our church people are down there helping. Our prayers are for you folks.

i can't even think of anything to say about how bad i feel for the texas posters...just can add gt and p, to you...

pat just c/p your email and sent it to my cousin-in-law...we both have family in texas (lucky for us, they're in the woodlands) knowing her, it will be sent on...

Our state has been hit with 3 tornados this past year with the federal government doing NOTHING, because a FEMA said--it was not big enough. the people here in this state have been great helping and rebuilding our own, without gov. help--or very very little help. I cannot imagine the destruction in TX without help--all they can do is yell, scream and let their reps know that if they want to be elected again, they will get help NOW!! We need to help our own, before we help those overseas.

Pat, I sent e-mails to California's two US Senators and to one of the California US representatives.
I am not sure anything will change but I have always gotten personal responses when I have addressed issues before.
I will let you know when I get responses.

We've been in Houston twice recently, and parts of town still have branches and debris that have not yet been cleaned up.

Yorki, I'm so sorry about your house flooding. My DD in N. Houston had 2 floods, so I sure know what you're going through.

Just one correction. I'm from Galveston but live in Minnesota now. My mother and sister live there and my sister is the church secretary at First Lutheran Church. I'm proud to say that the Oktoberfest did go on as planned although with a greatly reduced menu as the kitchen was destroyed. They reported to me that they had a great turnout and were able to make some much needed money! Hurray!

bigbaby: YAYYYYYYY!!!!! I'm so happy to hear the church pulled off the Oktoberfest/"Ike's Over Fest" and made some money!! Thanks for the GOOD NEWS update!

yorkiebear: My prayers go out to you. I know y'all were hit HARD with Rita. (DS's ex -- they were still married in '05 -- had parents in Bridge City, siblings in Orange & Beaumont.)

And, yeah, I focused on Galveston b/c this is a national forum and more people have heard of Galveston than Bridge City (or Gilchrist, which is no more. Or Crytsal Beach or Surfside, Kemah, Seabrook, Clear Lake, Texas City, Anuhuac, etc. -- all of which took HARD hits, with homes & businesses destroyed.) I'm figuring that if the Feds come in with low-cost loans to Galveston, (and FEMA trailers? There are 400 human beings in tents, almost 7 wks. later! One woman was on a newscast, saying how her apt, building was being condemned and she was told to get whatever she wanted out of the apt. by a certain day -- but where the heck was she gonna put her salvagable stuff? She's living in a tent!) then hopefully, these other brutalized areas will benefit, too.

carol_in_california: THANK YOU for getting the word out in CA to your reps!!!!!!!!!

susanjf: I live in the Woodlands.

FEMA admits Ike response slow
Agency plans to speed mobile homes to areas hard hit by storm and review rules
By MIKE SNYDER
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 31, 2008, 11:33PM
A top Federal Emergency Management Agency official acknowledged Friday that the agency's response to Hurricane Ike has been sluggish, vowing to review procedures and "box some ears" to pick up the pace of recovery.

Harvey E. Johnson Jr., deputy administrator of FEMA, said the agency intends to deploy mobile homes in the hardest-hit areas more rapidly, review rules that may be causing inappropriate denials and pour more resources into helping Texas recover from Ike.

Johnson met this week with local officials in Galveston, the Beaumont-Port Arthur area and Houston to learn details of unmet needs.

He said Friday he has shifted more personnel into Texas housing assistance programs, invited energy company officials into FEMA's Texas field offices to help provide power to mobile homes housing storm victims, and started a review of procedures that result in relatively few families being approved for assistance when they first apply.

In southeast Texas, officials have agreed to waive certain inspection requirements, which will help FEMA deploy mobile homes more quickly, Johnson said.

"I think that I agree with the elected officials I met with," Johnson said in an interview. "They all have called and expressed the concern that FEMA is moving too slowly. Within FEMA, there is a renewed sense of energy to redouble or triple our efforts, that we need to box some ears."

Johnson said he's responding quickly to information and concerns expressed by local officials.

Immediately after a meeting Tuesday with Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and Galveston County Judge James D. Yarbrough, he said, he increased the rate FEMA will pay for hotels there from $99 to $160. FEMA also extended the hotel program to Jan. 15, he said.

Livable, but no stairs
But Sandy Badgett, 54, a Galveston resident whose apartment was flooded by Ike, said the extension is of little benefit because it applies only to people who have been approved for FEMA assistance. And the agency, she said, is denying many people unfairly.

Badgett said her brother, who is blind and confined to a wheelchair, has been denied money for a hotel beyond Nov. 11, even though the elevator in his apartment building won't be repaired until the end of November.

"Every first floor in Galveston has been flooded," Badgett said in an e-mail message. "Many, many people have no stairs to get to their home. FEMA tells them it is livable. How stupid. They can't get to the upstairs."

Johnson said he also has heard reports of questionable denials. In response, he said, the director of the agency's national service center flew to Austin on Friday to review procedures at call centers where applications are taken over the phone.

"We're taking a look at our internal processes to see whether we've been too narrow in our interpretations," Johnson said.

In addition, he said, FEMA needs to explain to the public more effectively how to navigate the application process, obtain the necessary documentation and, when necessary, file an appeal.

He said he spoke to one man who disqualified himself by answering "yes" to an application question about whether he had found an alternative source of housing. It turned out that this alternative housing was a tent in his front yard, Johnson said.

Another major source of criticism is FEMA's pace of delivering mobile homes to Southeast Texas. Local officials in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange say they need thousands of temporary homes, particularly for refinery and chemical plant workers who toil in industries crucial to the local economy.

Johnson said FEMA's assessment shows that 2,800 to 5,100 mobile homes are needed in Texas. He said he expected 370 to be in place by the end of Friday, including 169 parked in driveways with no power hooked up yet.

Kirk Roccaforte, the mayor of Bridge City, a town between Port Arthur and Orange that was devastated by Ike, said he felt Johnson was sincere in his commitment to help the area more effectively.

"I think he possibly is the guy that can make some things happen," Roccaforte said. "I think he has done the things that are necessary to get this moving quicker."

Roccaforte estimated that only about 20 of the town's 3,400 homes were habitable.

mike.snyder@chron.com

Here is a link that might be useful: FEMA admits Ike response slow

Mombondo and I have a little sister and her family in Sugar Land, which is a suburb of Houston. FEMA is balking all the way. Her insurance company won't pay for the damages yet, so she is living with it. They (her and 3 of her children) slept in their car for over a week, because they had no power and it was cooler in the car. FEMA wouldn't put them up in a hotel, because she didn't have "enough damage" to her home. We sent her money to help her out, but when there was no food to buy in the grocery stores, it didn't help with that issue. When she gets herself squared away down there, she is leaving the state of Texas.

My heart breaks for the people in Texas.

I hope I'm able to say this so it doesn't come out the wrong way. I know this can be a touchy subject. There's some mixed feelings though. I definitely have sympathy for the many many people who had damage to their homes and especially those inland who were told to stay put and not evacuate, unlike the coastal areas including Galveston who were warned for what, a week, to evacuate or "face certain death". Now someone has to search for hundreds of missing people and that distracts and takes away from other important tasks.

Here again is a media issue. During Katrina I was livid with all the media helicopters flying around taking pictures of people on their roofs with signs saying HELP and do you think any of those choppers could drop a rope and help a few folks? Nope. But they sure got a lot of good video clips, didn't they? At the same time they send reporters into the hurricane areas to report and show the sideways trees and rain, hope to catch a tornado or two and virtually show the same "report" as during any other hurricane. Stay home. People facing disasters don't need you there Mr/Ms newscaster. I'll admit the feeling of some justice when I saw Al Roker's fat butt get tossed around by the winds, secretly hoping that a little something else could have given him a real experience that would dissuade him from any future nonsense.

I have cousins north of Houston and in all they fared fairly well, all things considered. At least they have power back and have a roof over their head. Lost a porch, lots of shingles although the worst part was the septic flooded and backed up. What a mess. The weather following was unusually accommodating though, being cooler than usual after a hurricane. Then of course was the followup issues of availability of gas, groceries and the like. I talked to them a couple times and they told me things were a lot worse than the media made it out to be.

And I agree that we can do far better things with $12 billion a month and I won't get into the political thing here given the irony involved but it does disgust me when people are pawns in the political arena. It seems to me to be mismanagement of a state where this is a common occurance, albeit nowhere near Ike's scale, but nonetheless there seems to be limited to no planning for the disasters when they do strike.

We've faced several tragedies in the past few years too. A town devastated by a tornado that was a sudden appearance, another town pretty much wiped out by a huge tornado, a bridge collapsing... but I do give credit to the state and local communities for having plans in place, fire/police and rescue people who were nothing short of miraculous in their response and communities that banded together to help. Deaths are tragic, but considering what they could have been it was still nearly unbelievable at the low loss of life considering the situation.

The politicians have tried to strike fear into us that terrorists will strike and we have to be ready for them. OK, that's a possibility. But you can't disregard the natural disasters that DO happen. The type varies in the locale you're in but most places have them and it takes time, effort, planning and resources to prepare for them.

One last little rant. The city in which I live keeps a half million dollar slush fund in case of damage to the golf course. They need to get it back up immediately in case of a tornado or something. I just can't believe it. Where are people's priorities?

Here's hoping they get on the ball down there both now and in the future and do their jobs. Now that the elections are almost over maybe the business of the country can come back into view.

You must not be from the Texas Gulfcoast area? A WEEK? Really? Check your facts. I hate that the truth is not out there for folks from around the country to see and hear. It is BEYOND sad. I have many friends who simply have a slab and are forced to pay a mortgage and now taxes.

Shakes head....

Zbrat

What folks don't realize is that it isn't just the coast area affected. We're in Tyler--200 miles north and we had 2 trees on our house and several down in the yard. We still haven't settled w/ the insurance company--they want to pay to repair only the holes in our roof and not the whole roof. We have spent thousands out of pocket to clean all this up. We'll never see that $ back. We were luckier than a lot of folks up here in East Texas whose homes were destroyed.

I live just across the bay from Galveston...about 15 miles as the crow flies, but farther by road...maybe 45 miles. We had almost no damage here, even tho being on a bayou.

Neighbor had probably 30 trees down in her yard, even tho she only has an acre and a half, and her mother lost about 300 trees on her place. We lost a few big trees back in the woods. None of the trees in our yard. Just lucky.

I was without power for 9 days, but within two days, stores were opening, gas was available, and restaurants opened, altho with limited menus. Supermarkets didn't have perishable items...except they did have ice...altho each city was giving out ice, and lines weren't very long. By five days after the storm, supermarkets had fresh meat, milk and other perishables.

I didn't do a lot of driving around...gas was a little "ify" as to whether or not you could find it and lines were long.
I did have to drive 40 miles round trip every day to check on the elderly man I look after. But, I think the Alvin/Santa Fe area must have gotten back up going with stores, etc., faster than some parts of Houston.

People were out within hours after the storm, cleaning up their yards. You can drive down most streets around here and see little evidence that there was a storm, except for the tarps still on many roofs.

The sad fact is, you can't depend on the government to take care of you. Yes. They spend millions helping other countries, and do little for our own citizens. I know people who truly needed FEMA money and were turned down, and I know at least two who didn't need it, and got it anyway.
A lot of people lied and were able to collect.

People who were in Katrina are still living in FEMA trailers and at the same time suing for the formaldehyde giving them health problems while living in the trailers.

This was an unusual storm, considering the size. I think they are calling it a hundred year storm. People do get complacent because Galveston hasn't had a hurricane since
1983. It was a cat 3, and I think Ike was a cat 2, but the storm surge was greater with Ike and certainly the damage. Most people I know stayed home during the '83 hurricane. We did. It wasn't that bad. This one was much worse.

I understand why people are reluctant to leave. You want to get back in to see about your property. And when Rita was supposedly coming (can't remember now if it was 2 or 3 years ago), this area wasn't affected, but the evacuation was a nightmare. It was total gridlock on the freeways and no one ever talks about all the people who died from heat stroke, sitting in cars, no gasoline available. Not to mention pets and livestock that also died from heat exhaustion.

The main thing that went wrong with Rita evacuation, which convinced a lot of people not to go this time, was that so many people who didn't need to leave, got scared and left.
The news media had them whipped into a frenzy...saying the storm surge would come 30 miles inland. People on the far side and all over Houston were on the freeways, and the whole dadgummed thing so poorly managed....clogging up the works...people that didn't need to evacuate in the first place.

I will never evacuate for a hurricane. I left for the night to go to a nearby town to stay with a friend and so I would be able to be nearby to take care of the old man I look after. Now, if I lived on Bolivar, or Seabrook or any of those places that are low, I would, but after what I have seen from Rita and now this one, I will stay here and won't be expecting anything from the government.

Diamond's backstage action aids Ike efforts
Oak Island could receive millions from his concerts
By BRADLEY OLSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Nov. 2, 2008, 8:14PM
When he takes the stage tonight in St. Louis, soft-rock legend Neil Diamond has an unusual speech planned amid wildly popular renditions of America and Sweet Caroline.

He wants to tell fans about Oak Island: the heaping, rotting piles of debris; the hundreds of homes washed away; and the people, some still sleeping in tents and cars, struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Ike decimated the area in September.

Two weeks ago, after his concert in Houston, Diamond paid an incognito visit to the small, unincorporated hamlet in Trinity Bay and was shocked by the devastation.

Ever since, he has given something of a stump speech about the former fishing village at each of his concerts. And, operating almost completely under the radar, he has promised to donate 100 percent of the gross merchandise sales at 20 concerts to assist in the rebuilding of the small community, which sits just a few miles south of Anahuac in Chambers County. Proceeds could reach millions of dollars.

"These people are in big trouble and I want to help," Diamond said. "It may only be a drop in the bucket, but I'm going to ask my audiences in every city that I play to help. So far they've come through to the tune of more than $700,000. I intend to keep asking until the end of this tour."

The money will be administered by the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund, the charity set up by Mayor Bill White, who piqued the singer's interest in Oak Island.

Chambers County was among the areas hardest hit by Ike. In Oak Island, more than half the island's homes are gone or uninhabitable.

"As we drove down there, I tried to show him the height of the storm's line in the trees, and you could still see the debris up there that was carried by the water," said Anahuac Mayor Guy Jackson, who took Diamond to the community. "And then we started getting to the homes. The level of destruction just gets worse and worse and worse as you get closer to water's edge."

Diamond also couldn't help but notice that people were living in tents and cars next to their destroyed property.

"For a lot of people there, all they got left is a few belongings and they don't want to leave them," said Chambers County Judge Jimmy Silvia.

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency offered to help with rentals in Baytown, but that was too far away from many residents' jobs. And, as of late last week, FEMA had yet to allow anyone to move in to the trailers that were recently brought in, Silvia said.

So, in effect, people were still sleeping in tents and cars while trailers sat unused nearby, he said.

Although Diamond recently told concert-goers in Dallas and Tulsa to "help get people out of tents," what most got his attention during his visit to Oak Island was the community's resolve.

At a meeting he attended outside a small church, people committed to fix their homes on their own, as best they could. That's what prompted him to continue giving as much as he could, and to tell all his fans about Oak Island.

"Texas would be surprised at the cities that have come through for them," Diamond said. "My hope is to put as many people as we can back in homes as quickly as possible."

bradley.olson@chron.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Diamond's backstage action aids Ike efforts

This is from the Gardening in Texas forum:

Posted by beachplant 9b (beachplant@excite.com) on Fri, Nov 7, 08 at 12:04

Got e-mail today! finally! I've been to the community center a dozen times without being able to get online. Got confirmation today that I have a job also and that it means no break in service! YEAH! Rejected by FEMA and SBA, writing my apeals. Everyone on the island remains in wait pattern, wait on FEMA, wait on insurance, wait on UTMB-will we have jobs?, wait on city wait on permits-permits denied!, it's horrible and getting worse. The trees all look horrible, we haven't had enough rain to speak of, the water is still iffy, debris lines the streets, whole neighborhoods are deserted and without power, there is a dead horse on east beach rotting away, there is still curfew downtown, a lot of the business' aren't going to reopen......
It's very depressing here and getting worse. I'm working in the yard some but man is it dead out there, every time I rake up a pile of debris I think about what used to be there. Did find the brick sidewalk though, the tree covers part of it but found the rest under the debris.
See ya'll at Mercer tomorrow. WE don't have any plants to bring but we'll bring pictures and smiles!
Thanks to everyone for their concerns and prayers-the church groups have done more for us than anyone else, federal, state or local. We can never thank them enough! Even the Mennonites have sent food!
Tally HO!
This was my post in reply:

Posted by drewsmaga (My Page) on Tue, Nov 11, 08 at 2:39

Tally, may I cross-post your update to the GW Kitchen Table? I've been posting there with updates I've gotten from the Chronicle, local new, and my horror when we went to Galveston a few wks. ago & saw how bad it was. I'm astounded that FEMA has abandoned TX with this hurricane (heard on on of the news @ 6 last night that local governments are begging FEMA for at least the same amount of aid Katrina victims got, b/c it ain't happening here in TX.
My heart goes out to all of y'all in Galveston, Oak Island, Surfside, Gilchrist, Anuhuac, and so on and so on. . . I'm trying to keep this in the national attention. . . I am SO disturbed that the rest of the country has abandoned y'all. . . .
Pat, safe in The Woodlands

This is Tally's E-mail to me:

Yes, please! I am trying to get the word out to as many people as I can and of course I thought of all of us on the gardenweb, we are from everywhere and we all talk! FEMA keeps doing stuff 30 days, 30 days, then the city or the state or the county has to try and get it extended for another 30 days. Why would anyone think that you could clean up after this in 30 days! And the idiot in charge said that housing wasn't going to be a problem in Galveston because all our damage was from wind and not flooding!!!! I guess he didn't watch the news, oh, wait, there was no news! The city imposing a media blackout didn't help at all. The state also had a no-fly order over the area. And then we had to compete with the election and the economy. Plus we didn't stand on bridges and wring our hands while holding out one hand. Good thing cause FEMA isn't any better. They had food and water to give out, but the city wouldn't let us in! Then they stopped giving out supplies, well, 80% of the homes were damaged or destroyed, a lot of people aren't home and won't be for months or years. Still no trailers in site, people are living in tents, cars, moldy houses, gutted houses, 15-20 people living with relatives. The people in public housing have it the worst, They didn't let them get their stuff out, they just left the apts open & moldy & put a big fence around the places. They are all in limbo. The city was going to let them in to get their belongings, the second floors of most places were OK. Of course by now that stuff all has to be moldy and smelly.

Tally HO!

How can so many hundreds of millions of dollars be allocated so quickly to banks and other businesses, and the average devastated family can't get even decent assistance through a horrific catastrophe!

For those thinking people have the means to help themselves, I'm sorry to tell you, most people don't, especially when there are rip-off contractors to boot. If there is a roof that needs repair, that's one thing. But when your house is reduced to a slab, you don't have that much in reserve. You have to pay the mortgage for what was a house and also the place to stay while trying to rebuild. Some complain that people should stay away from coastal areas, and that they shouldn't expect so much help if they stay during storms. Some of that may be true, but actually, there is some catastrophe that can happen anywhere that could turn a life upside down. I live in an area where earthquakes are uncommon. Wouldn't you know, I've been through several in the past few years! There was no damage, but if the foundation was rocked, I would have been devastated - not being able to afford to fix the place. I've had hurricane damage and I'm NO WHERE NEAR the normal hurricane paths. Many don't leave because they have no where to go, or the means. In the case of Katrina, look how many people did evacuate - and had worse situations after having "followed the rules". Who the heck would have thought a stadium would have taken that much damage. That's why the authorities used it - they thought it would be safe. Many people spend money needed for other necessities, to evacuate when the devastation never materialized. You never know when you don't have control over "Acts of God". I don't think everyone is looking for charity just because it's there. Prosecute those who do, however.

We all have to be responsible in our lifestyles. However, I think everyone will encounter uncontrollable instances that can overwhelm any means of fixing up on their own. If they need help, they need help.

No, not a rant, just a concern for those suffering right now. I'm sure even a smile or hug is helpful, and that doesn't hurt anyone.

As I was reading everyone's posts here, I was thinking that I might be able to offer services to help some folks. I lost my job and have a bit of free time; I'll have to check into it. Glad I saw this!

My thoughts and good wishes to all experiencing these devastating events.

gneegirl

Unfortunately, the e-mails I sent to California State senators and my California representative have gone un-answered.
I did get a reply from our representative telling me she would respond personally. However the elections were in its last weeks so I have never received a reply.

carol_in_california, thank you, on behalf of my fellow Texans, for trying. No one else seems to care. .. .

I simply CANNOT understand why, 8 weeks later, people still haven't gotten FEMA trailers. There was an article in the Houston Chronicle (long, link posted) about a family who's living on a tugboat and in tents. Why? Is it b/c, as Tally wrote, " we didn't stand on bridges and wring our hands while holding out one hand," unlike the Katrina victims? Texas got ignored, also, after Rita -- and there was awful damage to Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange., etc. Orange got hit hard with Ike, too. I simply don't understand what made New Orleans so special after Katrina, and Texas so ignored after Ike. . ..

Here is a link that might be useful: Oak Island residents still living in hurricane disaster mode