Galveston

We had some time today so we took a trip out to Galveston. I wasn't really sure what to expect and was obviously not prepared for the amount of destruction we saw. You could tell in Houston that there had been some serious wind. The part that we have seen so far were in good condition with the exception of some signs that were missing or broken or trees that had blown over, but no major structural damage that we have seen. This started to change the close we got to the island. Started to see more signs down or damaged and saw more and more blue tarps on roofs (someone made a killing on tarps). When we passed the space center and were getting close to the bridge that actually takes you to Galveston island we saw massive debris along the road, I am assuming it was on the road, but had been pushed off to allow traffic. There were boats, couches, beds, everything all in piles along the road. When we got on the island itself it was clear just how bad it was. Parts of town had debris piled 6 foot high all along the road. We went to the north end of the island and then traveled all the way to the south end along the sea wall. I have never seen so many homes on stilts before and could tell that what I was seeing was only a fraction of what had been there before the storm. We couldn't help but compare what we were seeing to our experience in San Diego last year with the fires. Triann and I both felt that the damage was greater in Galveston, but then agreed that it was just different. In San Diego the destruction was visible in the landscape, meaning the trees and land that was scorched, and the homes were burned to the ground with only the brick fireplace and chimney remaining, but the debris was not the same since everything burned. The property in Galveston was just as destroyed, but it was blown all over everything, so that even homes that weren't damaged by Ike were still buried with all the crap from the homes that were. Not sure if that came out right, but too tired to fix it tonight. Bottom line, it was incredible.

We took a ton of pictures, none of which accurately portray the damage. One other thing I will point out is that the town is full of folks working their tails off to put it back together. Many restaurants and businesses are open and folks are doing everything they can to clean everything up. I am anxious to visit again on our next trip and see how things look then. Only thing I can tell you for sure is that if I lived there and was told that a hurricane was coming, you can bet that I would be one of the first off the island.



Hard to see but this is a concrete pier extending out into the gulf, most of the concrete deck and pilings are gone.

All along the roads were piles and piles of debris. We saw everything from vehicles to beds in the piles.

This was a hotel on a pier. The wall on the left part of the building is gone, allowing you to see into the rooms. Again hard to make out, but there are two roadways on either side of the pole. The one to the right has a 2 foot gap where it meets the road we are on, the one on the left is completely gone. There were 2 vehicles that we could see on the left side of the building that were stranded up there.

No comments needed

We were told that there were buildings completely covering the north end of the island. The only evidence of that are a few foundation pieces (even the foundations were taken away by the water) and household debris (Tupperware, cupboards etc)