Hurricane Ike blew over Galveston, slammed through the ship channel, and tore up downtown Houston in a matter of hours. Behind him he left total destruction. While the combination of water and wind wrecked the coastal areas, the wind damage alone left the city of Houston in a shambles. Ike had no problem creating a massive wind tunnel effect among the downtown skyscrapers causing windows even forty stories up to blow out. Like a petulant child, Ike's windy hands grabbed office contents, dragged them out of the buildings, and rained them on downtown. Furniture smashed on the streets, computers broke apart. Broken glass, confidential papers, and paper punches filled the streets. The only saving grace was that it happened late at night when people were gone.
Even yesterday, some 12-15 hours later, glass continued to drop and litter the downtown streets. The area is cordoned off and no one is allowed in unless they are part of the restoration process. Ike bustled north and continued to uproot trees, peel off roof tops, and shred sheds. Houston is lucky this bad boy decided not to hang around.
More than two million customers in the Houston area are left without power. I have been one of the lucky ones. Thanks to a large generator, we've withstood storm in relative comfort. I've been able to follow the storm's track and see the aftermath thanks to online reporting from two major televeision stations. While interesting, watching the destruction is a major distraction. So my listings have fallen to the side. The listings and photos are ready to go. All I have to do is focus. Let's see if that happens.
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