Hurricane Gustuv Question for Houstonians?

Question

If that thing that is out in the gulf comes towards the houston area, R you going to leave or stay put?

Why?

Just wondering. I'm staying, the house I'm in has been here for over 100 yrs and has been through many hurricane's with miminal damage. Last time with Rita it took me 3 hours to go 17 miles, I turned around and came home, everything was fine. So just wondering would you leave or stay where you are?

Answer 1

We live in Katy so we are going to stay put.  I am concerned more with wind damage and possible power outages than anything else.  The power always goes out when there is a big storm.  

Be safe

Answer 2

This storm looks like it's going to hit near New Orleans.  But storms are not that predictable.  If you live on the east side of town, you might want to treat this as a mini, impromptu vacation and leave NOW,  If you are older, have very young children, or have a chronic illness, then, the problem with these storms is not so much the storm itself, but the aftermath without electricity.  This can be very dangerous for people in these categories with our hot, humid August weather.  Remember, if you need to leave, don't wait to see where it's really going to hit because by then it's already to late for an easy exit from the city.

Answer 3

Depends on how big it is, and where you live.

I was in Florida in 04, and sat through 4 hurricanes, though none of them were direct hits. I was here for Allison. NOT a big fan of storms anymore.

We live near Med Center, so storm surge is not a big problem. My only real worry is the huge trees around here falling down in the wind, and the hassell of getting power back on. The problem with Katrina wasn't the damage from the storm...it was all the levees breaking and scummy people running around looting and shooting afterwards.

The New Orleans Aquarium lost all its fish not because of the storm...it made it through the storm fine...it lost the fish because they had to evacuate the "ride out team" after the storm because of the looting scum and there was nobody left behind to keep the emergency power on so the bubblers to the tanks failed and the fish all died.   I don't see that happening in Houston...except maybe in the neighborhoods where all the Katrina people moved to.  The problem with Katrina was the storm, and it wasn't with FEMA, it was a spectacular failure of goverment at State and Local level.

If it was just me,  I'd probably stay put for just about anything. The house is old (foundation shot) but most of it is brick, except for the addition that was added in the 70s.  But for one of the trees falling on it, I think I'd be ok here in  a 3 or maybe even a 4, as long as I had my supplies up. I'm not in any of the evacuation zones.

That being said, I have two kids, and I'm lucky enough to have in-laws who live in the Woodlands.  Spending a couple of days without power and eating out of the pantry is a bit of an adventure when you are a single grown up, (during Allison the wife and I went over and helped them evacuate the hosptials that has lost power) but put the kids in the equation and it just gets miserable. We'd take the kids to the Woodlands.  

Answer 4

i dont  stay in houston but if it hit i will be there to turn your power back on. good luck  and take all the  steps to stay as safe as possible

Answer 5

I am going to be staying out and going nxt door to to the in-laws house.  I don't want to stay in my house if the winds are gonna be bad cuz I have big trees hanging over my house & I don't wanna be there when one falls on it!  At least I know I'll be safe over there & to h**l w/tryin' to evacuate cuz it was terrible when Katrina came through tryin to get out so I'm just gonna stay right where I am

Answer 6

We're staying.

We have supplies, ammo, and are far enough from the Gulf that we don't have to worry about storm surge. I am about two blocks from Buffalo Bayou, but that shouldn't be a problem.

We didn't even lose power during Rita.