Share Your Hurricane Ike Story

The 100 mph wind came crashing down in Texas on Friday night and kept on coming until early Saturday morning.  The noise of broken shingles crashing up against the roof kept many of us up as the storm came and went.  The rain pounded down like bullets during a war and left many with homes filled with water and debris.  The sky would light up and then turn a dark as the storm approached the house.  All we could do was sit and wait it out.  I am sure many did not get much sleep as Ike came sweeping through south east Texas and those closer to the coast were hit hard and fast.  Many close to the coast have been told not to come back to their homes until officials have had time to assess the severity of each area.  Some still don’t know if they have a house left to come back to, some know that they have lost their homes. 

As the search and rescue teams are out on their massive rescue operation, many of us are at home trying to help get things back to normal.  Some of us are without electricity, but we have managed to stay safe from the damage made by Ike.  Thousands of people who stayed behind or have come back home have formed massive lines for water and ice from aid organizations and local stores. 

Now that we are in a place where we can begin to clean up and rebuild, we need to start thinking about those who lost much more than a few shingles on their roof.  Even in the Houston area there are many people who lost homes or had such extreme damage to their homes, who will need to do more than a bit of raking and scrubbing to fix the damages.  Now is a time for the community to get involved and help others out in their time of need. 

If you are wondering about what you can do to help out local individuals, check out the web like www.redcross.org and see what kind of needs are out there.  They also have tips on post-hurricane safety that could deem itself useful as you start to clear up the debris.  Some people might need help getting trees off their roofs, or maybe an elderly person needs help cleaning up their house, whatever it is we can help.  All able bodies should be willing to get out and help those who cannot do much to help themselves.  For those of us who were blessed not to have severe damage from Ike, we should be the ones willing to help out our neighbors and our community.  It’s a dirty job, but somebody has got to do it!  Find a way to help a friend or a neighbor get back on their feet.  Do your part in making a difference and helping south east Texas get back on its feet.   

Have any interesting stories that you would like to share about your Hurricane Ike experience?  Maybe you know of someone who could use a helping hand or a community building that will need able and willing bodies, shout back at us and share your Hurricane Ike story.