Nerve Endings Firing Away

Hurricane Ike's path through Houston

Hurricane Ike is expected to pass right through the heart of Houston after literally battering Galveston. A 15-foot storm surge is expected to flood the entire island. Although technically it is a barrier island and geographically intended to take on the brunt of any such storm, rampant development and dense populations have made catastrophic damages quite likely. The warnings that you invite certain death if you stay on in Galveston cannot get any more dire.

Sampada and Rajith have decided to stay put in Houston, the next major city in the path of the hurricane and I hope they stay safe and dry. We, in College Station (see top left) are somewhat safe on the left fringes of the hurricane and although we expect severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall, the wind damage should be significantly less. Chances of tornadoes cannot however be ruled out but our apartment on the ground floor is relatively protected from that possibility. We’ve topped our gas tank while denting our car bumper in the process getting our gas-inlet-on-the-opposite-side in place. HEB Groceries is expectedly crowded although I must say it seems to be well stocked with plenty of bottled water everywhere. We got a reminder call from the leasing office to clear our porch which had a clothes drying rack and an unused bookshelf. We had organized our important documents in a easy-to-carry carton just recently so in case we’ve to flee in a hurry that should be handy.

We should be safe but are expecting the worst to be over by mid-afternoon tomorrow. If you don’t see this blog updated for a while, drop in a line :)