finally back home in beaumont tx after rita evac.

[prole_for_peace]

i can't believe that officials are saying that this is liveable. i don't have power or phone (nor does anyone else on my street). i have no idea when my power will be back on. there are still trees down up and down the road and they pulled down the power lines. have not seen any work crews yet (on my street)

things are much worse than i saw on the major networks. and now they have totally forgotten about us. it is like rita never happened. at least here.

there are only a few supermarkets open and those don't have much stock. about a third of the fast food and restaurants are open but most of them close by about 6 pm. very few traffic lights are working and it is pretty much a free for all at most busy intersections.

i am staying at my bf's apt. he has power but for some damn reason his ac isn't working. it is 86 in here right now and i am not happy. i don't have to be back to work until monday. i thought about going in just to be cool but i can't sleep in this heat so i am tired and cranky.

also, the red cross are opening locations here TODAY!! two weeks since the hurricane and they are just now opening. that pisses me off too. actually everything is pissing me off right now.

[Igel]

1. Do you have water and sewer service?

If water, is it drinkable without boiling?

[prole_for_peace]

4. we are supposed to let the water run for 10 minutes

prior to drinking. i think we only have to do it once. but i am not drinking water that i have to run to make safe. i bought a lot of bottled water before and when we were in dallas. the sewer system is working so that is great.

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. I think that by running the water...

...you are purging the pipes local to you of water that may have stood static for the time you have been away. Personally, I would open ALL spiggots and faucets at the same time (including the washer hookups) and purge everything at once.

[Igel]

12. One thing that I got for earthquake preparation in Los Angeles--

and which only came in handy years later during the big north-east power outage ... and during a power outage from an ice storm--was a Coleman propane stove. The propane canisters are small and while I wouldn't want to be around them in a fire, they're safe enough for normal use.

We even used it camping once. :-)

I was planning on riding out Rita in Houston (instead there was nothing really I'd call "riding out"), and planned on no power for a while. The camp stove would suffice. It's recommended for putting with other hurricane preparedness stuff, if you can afford one.

I agree with the other poster, though: run all the water from all the taps to flush the old water from the pipes, and then it should be safe. Unless they're broadcast boil-water alerts for your neighborhood, that is.

[cally]

2. How's the rest of the town?

The devastation of RITA has gotten little coverage. Is power out over a wide area? I hope you get power, ac, and phone soon. :hug:

[prole_for_peace]

5. i just drove around this morning and it looks like a bomb

went off. lots of sheet metal from roofs and awnings all over. trees are down everywhere. my street was very shady and had lots of tall oaks. most of them are down or topped now. the street is as bright as in winter when the leaves are off. there is a house on the corner that HAD about 7 big trees in the yard. not anymore. i believe that all the streets are passable now but am not sure. the po still isn't delivering mail in every part of the city and their are long lines at the local post offices of people picking up their mail. i am sure my fema check is there but it is too damn hot to stand in a hundred person line. i went to a supply stop today to get a tarp for my garage (small hole in roof) but there were at least 150 cars in line for water and ice and tarps. and that is only one place. there are multiple ones set up all over town.

looks like a lot of people don't have power. of course the mall does and the richer parts of town (as usual). i had heard that they were saving the more damaged parts of town for last. all the poles on my street are up but the phone and power lines are down.

[pitohui]

7. it might come as a direct deposit

my fema payment came as a direct deposit, it just appeared in my bank account, if you can check online it might be worth while & save you a trip to the post office

they know the post office is not operating under normal conditions

good luck

[ohio_liberal]

10. My emergency FEMA payment came direct deposit

I think I had to request it on the form though.

[ClintonTyree]

11. You might have two FEMA checks by now......

if you applies for the first one there should be a second coming about two weeks after the first one. My daughter had hers mailed to her and she got the first one in one week and two weeks later a second one. That one was to cover rent and stuff I guess. Stop by your local Red Cross as well. They'll issue you a debit card for $300 or so for clothes, food etc. as well. You may have to call to make an appointment as a lot of people are receiving help.
Best of luck, again and keep your chin up. Things will start looking up for you soon, just hang in there! :)

[pitohui]

3. a couple of suggestions

i can sympathize, i'm a katrina victim, the anger is normal & understandable, we'll need our anger to give us strength to get thru this

as for the a/c, get an a/c expert to look at it as soon as can be scheduled, many air-conditioners & refrigerators are ruined when the power is turned back on by the surge, this means for the a/c you need a new compressor, for the fridge, it is just as cheap to get a whole new fridge

you need to get these items documented as being storm-related, in that way if you have insurance, your insurer can help you pay for them, if you do not have insurance, you can still keep this information for FEMA

apply online as soon as possible if you have not already for assistance from FEMA to pay yr evacuation expenses & your un-insured storm losses like the air conditioner

my a/c had to be replaced, it was not caused by the power surge since we did turn off electric to the house before we evacuated, however, the wind damage to our house was extensive and among other things it actually blew insulation & all kinds of crap into the a/c unit, spoiling it

[prole_for_peace]

6. i will have to remember to shut off my breakers when i go back

over tonight to feed the cats. i meant to do it before we left two weeks ago but things just overwhelmed me.

while i was there earlier to give the monsters some attention i noticed a really bad smell coming from my fridge. i think i might just tape it closed, throw it away and buy a new one. i really am not looking forward to opening that thing. and my house smells bad enough anyway with no air circulation and two litter boxes. my windows are storm ones and can't be opened for a breeze. but the cats seem to be handling everything well. for them it is just a new adventure.

[ClintonTyree]

8. Good for you....

Sounds like you've got a lot of work ahead of you. I feel so sorry for you and all others that were affected by Rita and Katrina. I know, wishes don't get the electricity turned back on and make your burden any easier to bear, but you always have us to cry on our shoulders while you're going through it, sometimes that helps a little. Best of luck and keep us informed of your situation, we DO care. :toast: :grouphug: