Hurricane Rita

JHromadka · 09/21/2005, 12:48 PM

Hurricane Rita is headed straight for the Texas coast. I'm going to Chicago for a few days so will already be out of town when it hits, but hopefully my house will be Ok. I'm not in an area that normally floods, so as long as it's not another Allison things should be Ok.

I hope Bush Airport weathers the storm alright. I have a return flight on Sunday afternoon then leave for Europe Monday.

gtwo · 09/21/2005, 01:00 PM

Airline ticket = Nothing but permission to start the adventure.

Good Luck.

Mtreosexual · 09/21/2005, 01:03 PM

If you keep giving them these nice girly names . They will keep coming one after another .
Katrina, Ophelia , and Now Rita .

Everything was quite for a long time after Andrews.

gtwo · 09/21/2005, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mtreosexual

If you keep giving them these nice girly names . They will keep coming one after another .
Katrina, Ophelia , and Now Rita .

Everything was quited for a long time after Andrews.

That was a himicane.

NRG · 09/21/2005, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mtreosexual

If you keep giving them these nice girly names . They will keep coming one after another .

Huricane Bertha(96), now that is a name!

Mtreosexual · 09/21/2005, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NRG

Huricane Bertha(96), now that is a name!

jmill72x · 09/21/2005, 03:01 PM

Good luck James. I hope your house makes it through the storm.

Mtreosexual · 09/21/2005, 03:04 PM

Good luck to people in low lying areas of houston !!
Global warming .?? Is that something to do with these.

JHromadka · 09/21/2005, 03:57 PM

I talked to my neighbor who's been here since '79 and nothing has happened, even with Andrew and Allison, so I feel better. I'll still move some stuff around just in case.

KRamsauer · 09/21/2005, 04:24 PM

Fortunately I live on the third floor of my complex. So long as the roof stays on (which is likely given the anticipated wind speeds--rain is the danger) I'm going to be fine. I have some good books for when the power goes out (and my treo batteries go out after playing bike or die for a few hours

)

Mtreosexual · 09/21/2005, 04:53 PM

Fellow Tcers.

Let us send a chopper to rescue the moderators !!

Alas if we had the TC T- shirts, would have been easy to find our peeps.

As a last resort , I would suggest waving your Treo's from the roofs.

Also the new FEMA director is for real. Everything will be handled efficiently.

So need not worry !!

codetreo · 09/21/2005, 10:52 PM

I have experienced something similar here in NYC during the 911 and blockout a few years ago, all phones were busy and fast busy too, but the Nextel DC still clicking, along with the Blackberry devices. Verizon got a pretty good responds too. It did took many tries. Sprint was much harder to get connected. I am sure TMoblie and ATTWS/Cingular might be tougher.

My main question is: Do you think SMS/Verichat or any applications using the DATA portion of the network might work during time when the voice services are busy?

Thanks.

JHromadka · 09/21/2005, 11:48 PM

Just tested SMS and it seems to still work ok. Normal cell service is a wash though.

Rome · 09/22/2005, 12:01 AM

I am in Houston as well. Voice service is spotty at best today. I am on Sprint. I have been using verichat all day to communicate with friends and family...works a lot better than voice.

I am in Northwest part of the town. My only worry now is that one of the trees around us will fall on the house.

Be safe.

codetreo · 09/22/2005, 12:33 AM

Best luck to everyone. Be safe. Thanks for the feedbacks. Please keep testing....stay safe.

JHromadka · 09/22/2005, 12:57 AM

Now even normal phone lines are getting fast busies at times.

jmill72x · 09/22/2005, 11:12 AM

Excellent advice about keeping around a corded phone in a closet for emergencies. From someone who has been through too many hurricanes, you just can't count on the phone and electrical systems staying up. I had my power go out once 12 hours before the storm hit (and not come back up for a week after it left), and then go down 2 hours AFTER the worst of the storm had already past. Cordless phones are obviously useless at this point, and cell phones aren't much better. You can't charge them, and since everyone else's phones are out, everyone is clogging the cell lines by trying to make calls that way. Save them for emergencies only. Plus, there's a good chance the cell towers will be damaged by the storm, cutting your area's capacity down significantly, and it's just not your cellular and power companies priorities to get them back up and running right away. So even after the storm passes, you may be without a good cellular option for a while.

A corded phone might be your only communication option for a while. Stay safe, and start stockpiling gas, water, ice, batteries, canned food, and matches now.

GardnerMS · 09/22/2005, 02:10 PM

I am in Austin, Texas (150 miles as the crow flies from the Gulf)... It looks, fortunately for us, unfortunately for east Texas/west louisiana, that it has shifted to the East..

All my prayers go out to fellow TC'ers who are in the path of destiny... And if anyone evacs to Austin, email me... gardnerms [at] airpost [dot] net.

M

chrisfoster · 09/22/2005, 03:26 PM

The only sure communication method that's dependable in such emergencies is Ham Radio. Those guys are the first and last line of communication.

The only hurricane i've ever been through was Hurricane Bob..Now that's a pathetic name. Decent storm though, I was in Maine at the time and it was still kinda ferocious.

CMSNeuro · 09/22/2005, 03:48 PM

I used to live in Miami, so i know about hurricanes plenty. This summer when Katrina came i was in Miami, FL with my parents. It wasn't as bad as it was in St. Louis, but I live in an easily-flooded area and a lot of trees were knocked over. Plus i was without power for like 4-5 days, it sucked. I had to be very wise when to use my Treo.