Situation in Houston

Just sent this email to a friend who evacuated Houston, thought I'd throw it up here to give some sense of where we are.

And let me say, if you're reading this thinking about coming back into the city, I don't know the current governmental advice on whether to come back or not, and also, there is still some significant power outages, this was written to a friend who lives in west/central Houston near the loop, so this may not apply to other areas. Also, I don't know the current status of the ingress routes, I45, hwy59 or whatever, so if you want to come back, that's on you.

Anyway, status report as of 9:30 AM.

Not knowing the details of your "out of town," I thought these details might be handy if you're looking to come back today.

First, there's very little damage in Houston. Basically, leaves and small twigs, but nothing larger. So, I wouldn't worry about that.

1. Gas is spotty, but here. It seems like about 1 in 5 stations are open(some only with diesel.) You can find it, but you have to hunt a little and wait 30 min to an hour. Probably be better throughout the day, and into tomorrow.

2. If you come back, bring your own groceries. A few stores are open, but you have to wait outside for awhile. Because of limited staff, they're only letting a certain number in at a time. Makes sense to keep people from getting overheated. Also, the supply trucks haven't come in yet, so any fruit and veg has been sitting awhile. And milk is almost unobtainable right now, as are the "hurricane kit" items, bread, tuna, soup, crackers, etc. So, if you're coming back, shop where you are, and bring it in in coolers. If I were guessing, they should start getting restocked sometime tonight, tomorrow.

3. I would guess your power went out. I was at the parent's house, and drove back home yesterday, and it looked like most of the power was out along memorial to Chimney Rock. It all came back on early to mid afternoon, so stuff in the fridge/freezer probably turned, but that's probably the worst of it.

4. All the school districts are closed through Tuesday, classes restart Wed.

5. A couple of businesses are open, the bagel place near my house was doing a ripping business this AM.

So, no traffic in town, everybody's trying to save their gas. I don't know what it's like coming in, but in town, it's nothing other than a few blinking stoplights.

If your somewhere comfortable, you can stay, but if you've got gas and food, it's just kindof like a holiday that no one's celebrating.

Didn't know your situation, but I was out and about this morning, and thought this might be helpful.

Mike