Hurricane Ike Devestation

[Macs]

We got hit dead on by hurricane ike saturday morning. My house faired pretty well. I lost my fence and most of my shingles. Storm surge got close, but didnt make it. Alot of homes around me were flattened so i have 17 people living at my home right now. The garage were i kept some of my toys was under a 6' storm surge for almost 2 days. A few things got swept away and the rest of them are completly full of salt water. I took some pics yesterday and i will post them up sometimes soon. It will make yall cry. My father in law got 4' in his house, brother in law got 8', my sister has only half a house, parents roof colapsed. Of course there is no gas, food, electricity, water etc etc. Luckily my office opened today so that has given me a nice break. My office is a an hour away so i am hoping there is gas stations open so i can stock up on a few things. Having 17 people in a home is draining all the supplies i have saved up. We are going through 20 gallons of water a day and 10 gallaons of gas for the generator. ugggg. I have just about went on a pure beer diet.

[chris200x]

Damn dude. It must be bad if ya cant wait to get to work to take a break.

I've been watching coverage on tv and I couldn't imagine having to go through something like that. how far are you from the coast? Did you guys have to evacuate? I'd like to see some pics or hear some more details (as sick as that may sound) I hope everything works out for you guys and things return to norm as quickly as possible. I know I get miserable after 20 minutes of having the cable go out.

[Macs]

What they have shown on TV is not the worst. They are still keeping any media out of the bad areas. I am 2 miles from the coast but my family and my garage are all about 100 yds from the coast. I didnt evacuate because i am at 32 ft sea level and the home i just built was built to withstand hurricane force winds. So everyone evacuated to my house. I had to force my father in law to leave and thank god he did. I really dont think he would have made it. I have alot of pics from Shoreacres. Alot of peoples houses leveled or just skeletons. We are still under curfew right now which really sucks. If i am not in town by 6, i cant get in. This morning i was not allowed to leave till 7. There has been alot of break ins and they are trying to put an end to that. People are just going nuts. Are last hurricane was in 1983, so alot of people were complacint and not prepared. My family included. I was even not as prepared as i should have been. Luckily i had food, water and gas. But with 17 people they are running out fast. I think by thursday things should be looking alot better. I am trying to stay off the goverment tit, but i am finding out fast that times like this, money does not do you any good.
On sunday afternoon word got out that a convient store was opened about 10 miles away, when i got there i had to wait in a 2 hour line just to get in the store. About the only thing that was left was candy. So i spent $72 on candy ( i was not leaving empty handed ).

[The Goat]

It's good to hear that you made it alright man, possessions don't mean *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* when it's your life.

you should be able to get MREs and water at some point. tell them how many people you have in your house and they should give you 17 cases of each. buy some exlax as well...or just make sure to chew the gum in the MREs...otherwise...yeah. we're pretty sure the gum is a laxative.

a word of advice on gas...if you drive slightly away from the path of the eye, you may be able to get gas a whole lot quicker than six hours.

two weeks ago, as my mom was waiting six hours, a few of us drove slightly out of the way...was able to get it about 30 minutes away, in about 20 minutes.

also...emergency food stamps will cover any loss of food from power loss. I know you said you don't like taking the aid, but at times like these, you get help where you can.

oh yeah, FEMA tarps...you may want to bring a spare person when they start handing out supplies, they are loathe to part with a few tarps to one guy.

If it's any good news, a lot of the disaster response teams are leaving out of Baton Rouge and headed your way. The amount of work they can accomplish in a week is astounding. we went from zero clear roads and 2 million people without power...to everything being at least passable now, and prolly 250,000 without power. when you consider every lightpole was snapped off or over, that's a damned good job.

oh yeah, anyone who's house was damaged and not liveable...call and make reservations for a future date at a hotel RIGHT NOW! FEMA will pay for one-six months stay at a hotel. the trick is getting a reservation early enough so you can actually get a room.

FEMA may also reimburse you for the gas you use in your generator....so keep receipts where you can.

but mainly...keep your spirits up, it'll all work out.

[cybrman]

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. You sound pretty upbeat considering!
Charlie was my first run in with hurricanes here in Florida, and now I pay attention because you just never know!!
Make sure you give them insurance adjusters a hard time, they will try to skimp big time. I made the mistake of trying to do everything myself and didn't get as much as I should've! Of course its never easy finding a contractor as they are all tied up.

Thankfully your family made it out alive! Good luck!

[The Goat]

oh yeah, one other thing, debris removal...your insurance company will pay you big money for the stuff laying in your yard. insurance means you don't have to do crap. i would advise not getting rid of the debris until an adjuster looks at it.

buddy of mine had a live oak fall on his garage and civic. he got more for the live oak removal than he got for damaged to his property. it's a situation where you get the money from them where you can because they will screw you on something.

[Daddio]

It's good to hear you are Okay. Things can be replaced, people can't. Ike even made it all the way up here to Ohio. Actually all we got was the wind but it did quite a bit of damage. I know some people that will be without power for a week or so. We lost power Sunday night for several hours and still are without cable. We are lucky.

[Macs]

Well, we got power last night and the Fema started distributing the motel vouchers. So everyone went to a motel last night except for my father in law. I think he is planning on just moving in, which is fine. Pics should be coming today. Since i have power i can get them downloaded on the home computer.

Cyberman - you have to stay upbeat. When you are sorrounded by misery i have to be the one to stay strong. It takes alot to get me down or upset me. When my shed got robbed i pretty much chalked that up to experience and and went on about my buisnuiss.

[fla 2-stroke]

I lost power for 2 weeks during charlie and frances in 04.lost my fence and some shingles but nothing compared to you.hang in there,stuff can be replaced.The most important thing I get now when storms come is gas.I have about 10 5 gal gas cans that I fill plus 2 cars when something is getting close.you have a good attitude,keep it up.good luck with everything.

[Dirtcrasher]

Glad you and your family are all alright.... I find mother nature amazing and awesome but it makes me think of all the people that were already just barely making it and then this stuff happens..... Talk about icing on the cake!

Thank god you got your power back, thats a big step. Hopefully you guys can get some fuel a bit easier soon.

Hang in there bud

[firehart]

Its good to hear that nobody in your family was injured. You can always come up here to Idaho for an extended vacation while the feds get everything back up and running.

[factoryX]

thats lame, did any of the bikes make it?

[Dirtcrasher]

Any updates down south Barry??

[Macs]

I have been working hard to get my father in laws house heading in the right direction. The wife and i got everything out, of course nothing was savagable. Got a general contractor to look at it yesterday and they are suppose to start work. The only trike that surgvived in shoreacres was a 250r. It was hanging from the cieling in the garage. It came crashing down. Found a four wheeler further down the street. The rest where probly washed out to sea. 90% of the stuff i had down there where in the rebuild stages. what is funny is the sand rail i am building was untouched and still sitting on the jack stands. What sucks is i dont have any pics of the stuff to claim on insurance. I have tons of pics from the damage but i havnt had a chance to upload them yet. Been extremly busy getting tings straight