Hurricane Ike in The Woodlands, Texas
Here is a picture/photo update for Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Walmart at 242, running on generators, did not have ice but they did have gallons of whole and 2% milk.
Walmart is also offering a phone charging station and there are several benches and chairs to sit and wait. McDonalds inside the store was packed and there were about 30 people waiting in line.
Regarding cell phone and wireless communication, I had a strong reception signal from Walmart. My phone will not call out from my house in Cochrans Crossing but I was able to call out on the 2nd try from the store. Also, my internet connection worked from the store.
Banana's are Free at Walmart (they are considering it a donation to charity), there is no sign, but when you go to check-out they tell you there is no charge. Lots and lots of banana's were at this store, a few potatoes, strawberries, tomatoes and onions were left.
The only paper product I could find were these Halloween napkins:
Lack of gas is another huge issue! If you look closely at this photo you will see in the far distance, right hand side, a blue roof, which is the gas station, and the line of cars goes completely around the Walmart parking lot. There are 2 lines from each direction with about 100 cars in each line! People have been waiting for hours to get gas. I passed 5 closed gas stations before I saw this. This was yesterday but today there are other gas stations that have gas (242 and Greenbridge Exxon) .
Kroger (Cochrans Crossing / Research Forest) had ice on Monday but they ran out by 10AM. They are planning on opening up on Tuesday at 8AM. The line went out the west entrance and way past the east entrance.
HEB also has ice for a few hours at a time. Be prepared for a long line.
I have heard that the Kroger in Magnolia (1488 and Honea Egypt) has ice.
This is the number one complaint and frustration from people. While walking out of the store people kept stopping me "do they have ice". People are desperate for ice!
There was a large convoy of utility trucks and wood chippers at the corner of 242 and I-45 getting ready to work on The Woodlands utilities.
There are large rolls of utility cables on the sides of the roads ... they are prepared to get us power and electricity as soon as possible.
Here is the water tower for Alden Bridge and Cochrans Crossing and you can hear the HUGE generator from about a block away. This is providing us normal water pressure.
For those who have internet access PLEASE comment about your street and neighborhood in The Woodlands and Spring on my blog. I'm getting a huge amount of emails from concerned family and friends from all over the country. They can't get through on the cell phones and want to make sure you are OK!
The garbage trucks were collecting trash today (Tuesday) in The Woodlands.
The Chik-Fil-A in Magnolia is open!
CISD, Conroe Independent School District is closed :
All CISD schools will be closed through Friday, September 19.
The Woodlands is 27 miles north of Houston, TX.
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with no cell phone :O)
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