Galveston weather concerns

[caribill]

you must not be drinking what I am

 

You are right!

[fragilek]

Reading through this and I can see both points of view - except for Royals whom treated those due to sail on the last weeks cruise disgracefully. I wanted to add a different slant to this from a UK cruisers perspective. For us to go our insurance (which is required to cover any medical need on holiday) would only be valid if there were no warnings not to travel in any area we would need to travel through to get to the cruise. On TV and some news reports I have seen officials stating not to travel, stay off the roads etc. Coming in from aboard I would not recognize different county names and if I need to travel through them form airport to cruise. So my question is is there a way to check an official OK to travel in each area.

[A&L_Ont]

It's something that has been hard to fathom. That evacuations are still going on on the far northwest side, but normal daily activities are resuming as much as possible. That friends who back up to the Addicks reservoir may have standing water in their homes for months, but that their daughters will be at gymnastics with my daughter tomorrow. All anyone wants is a glimmer of normal. For many people, it will be a long time before anything is normal again, but people staying away to be "respectful" and therefore hurting the local economy is not going to help anyone. There's a reason every business that can is opening their doors as soon as they can!

 

 

A friend of mine in Houston echos your sentiments. His motorcycle shop was open for business yesterday, even though 2 miles away areas are under still 5 feet of water. He said there was work to do, as well as bills and employees to be paid. Life where he is has returned to a "new normal".

[Cindy]

10 is currently under water at Highway 6 due to the release of water from the reservoirs. That's definitely a place people driving in would want to look for a new route ahead of time.

 

 

 

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I-10 is reopened this morning. My best advice for those driving to Galveston in the immediate future is to monitor road conditions and allow enough time for an alternate route if necessary.

 

 

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[coaster]

My two cents is to recommend folks booked this weekend watch the live streams on the internet from the Houston TV stations that are doing a great job during this crisis. More factual and less sensational than the national networks. Google search of 'Houston TV stations' will lead you to their websites with the live streams.

 

 

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[Sk8ermaiden]

I agree that our local news has been doing an incredible job of covering compared to the national news.

 

We just had to drive into downtown today from the far Northwest side, and it was perfectly fine and we got here ridiculously early. Google Maps is doing a good job of routing through the fastest way possible that doesn't involve high water. I'm sure Google Maps doesn't know every small side street that has water, but it knows all the major ones you would be taking to drive through the city.

[Sk8ermaiden]

A friend of mine in Houston echos your sentiments. His motorcycle shop was open for business yesterday, even though 2 miles away areas are under still 5 feet of water. He said there was work to do, as well as bills and employees to be paid. Life where he is has returned to a "new normal".

One of my good friends owns an aerial (cirque de soliel stuff) studio. And she said the number one thing that helped her after the tax day flood, was that all her students came back as soon as she opened the doors. Small business owners, especially, take such a huge hit every day that they're closed.

[lbjen]

KPRC2, KHOU 11, ABC 13, Fox 26 are the main ones.

[reallyitsmema]

Lol! There are some people on here tonight that are not thinking about what they are saying......

Please tell all the people in Rockport that no longer have houses, the people in Beaumont area that have water half way up the outside of there house, the people in the Houston suburbs that have houses that are water infested that the port and airport being open are good signs of improvement.... unbelievable....

 

What is unbelievable is your post! If you actually take my post in context, it was a discussion with someone who lives north of Houston who is trying to decide whether they are going to cancel their cruise for this weekend. I pointed out that the port has opened with some restrictions and the airports have opened, so those are signs of improvement.

 

I am fully aware that there are people who are suffering and have lost everything. I am also aware of the fact that life needs to continue on so people can start rebuilding their lives. As the storm moves away, people need to see that not all is lost and every street, business or airport that can open is a sign of improvement.

[LadyFureya]

FYI - A LOT of gas stations in the DFW area are completely out of gas. Lines to fill up in the area are down the block. People have been panic refueling which only further exacerbates the problem.

 

So there's a new obstacle that will affect some people getting to the port this weekend. No idea what the situation is on the stretches of highways between the major cities.

[BecciBoo]

No problem for us, we usually drive our Prius to and back from Galveston with no gas needed until we get back to Schulenburg.

 

And as far as "panic refueling"?? I call it being prepared for a gas shortage and I would be doing the exact same thing. We filled our cars here in the San Antonio area Wednesday just because of that...however, no sign of gas shortage here that I know of.

[Cuizer2]

It is nice to know that those that don't live in the area hit by Hurricane Harvey are having such a great time.

[BecciBoo]

 

I am fully aware that there are people who are suffering and have lost everything. I am also aware of the fact that life needs to continue on so people can start rebuilding their lives. As the storm moves away, people need to see that not all is lost and every street, business or airport that can open is a sign of improvement.

 

I agree with Mema here...People who are unaffected cannot put their lives on hold simply because they feel bad for those who were...Dog you make it sound like we should be ashamed that we are continuing our lives. People should help of course and we have done our share to contribute, my son is on his way to Rockport right now to help with reconstruction, etc. We have donated. Now we get on with our lives and plans for the future just as the victims will.

 

And I think Rav was speaking to the fact that "conditions" are returning to normal fairly quickly.

 

Of course, many people will be dealing with this for months, some even years and many will never be the same again...but they will establish a new normal. Geez lighten up just a little.

[misosoup321]

FYI - A LOT of gas stations in the DFW area are completely out of gas. Lines to fill up in the area are down the block. People have been panic refueling which only further exacerbates the problem.

 

So there's a new obstacle that will affect some people getting to the port this weekend. No idea what the situation is on the stretches of highways between the major cities.

 

With the weather and road conditions improving, hopefully the stations will refuel soon. We filled up our rental car at Willowbrook Costco yesterday; nothing close to IAH/us.

[misosoup321]

I have been posting on RCI's Facebook page the past couple days about what happened to the guests who booked the 8/27 Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston. Had some conversations with a few people who booked the 8/27 sailing who are currently trapped in the Houston or Galveston area, and others booked but not trapped, along with posting links to an online news article of a couple from Oklahoma who was caught up in this mess, and having travel insurance did not help them. There was also a post from a woman asking very politely to please cancel this weekend's cruise along with her reasoning why.

 

ALL of these posts, along with the others who have been commenting, have been deleted by RCI.

 

I am one of those active on FB, IG, and Twitter and I can confirm this. (Supposed to sail on the 8/27 sailing).

 

I just got blocked from RCI's FB page. They're trying really hard to squash this.

[tugboat]

It is nice to know that those that don't live in the area hit by Hurricane Harvey are having such a great time.

 

 

 

I agree let's protest let's turn off our computers for the next few weeks,turn your TV and radio's off don't leave our houses.

 

You have way too much free time on your hands get out and do some volunteer work.

 

Rain or Shine don't forget to welcome our visitors to our great city.

Remember they have Money.

 

 

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[misosoup321]

Yes, they did make major changes even though their house in the GNO area didn't flood. (They evacuated away from the city and then got stuck not being able to get back because of on going resue operations and the conditions of the destroyed new orleans area/lack of infrastructure). They wound up buying a house ten minutes from us after ten months in an apartment (they were elderly and we had numerous small kids, so they chose an apartment over living with us lol).

 

During the time New Orleans had no safe living conditions after the water went down-- it was ironic because *roads were open and clear* but there were no people in the area driving on them.

 

You can see how experience has taught me that open roads don't mean much in a disaster.

 

The residents will make do. My parents went back early after katrina (my DH is medical/first responder and got them in with him). They ate MREs from red cross and found out it takes 2.5 gallons of bottled water to take a crisis shower.

 

 

:eek: Oh my. There's so much that we can learn from what happened then for now. Thanks for sharing! Glad to hear they made it through.

[spleenstomper]

FYI - A LOT of gas stations in the DFW area are completely out of gas. Lines to fill up in the area are down the block. People have been panic refueling which only further exacerbates the problem.

 

So there's a new obstacle that will affect some people getting to the port this weekend. No idea what the situation is on the stretches of highways between the major cities.

 

What happened here where I live after Rita is people from down south in the disaster area were out of gas, so people with giant fuel tanks in the back of their pick up trucks (I don't know what you call it but it wasn't canisters... like a giant metal tank with pumps) came up the highway until they found available gas, and then would buy $500.00 and more of gas at a time to bring back and sell.

 

This drained our gas two hours away.

[pspercy]

Port of Galveston now open:

http://www.portofgalveston.com/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=INFORMATION-PORT-CONDITION-PARKING-CRUIS-27

[Daiho]

Reading through this and I can see both points of view - except for Royals whom treated those due to sail on the last weeks cruise disgracefully. I wanted to add a different slant to this from a UK cruisers perspective. For us to go our insurance (which is required to cover any medical need on holiday) would only be valid if there were no warnings not to travel in any area we would need to travel through to get to the cruise. On TV and some news reports I have seen officials stating not to travel, stay off the roads etc. Coming in from aboard I would not recognize different county names and if I need to travel through them form airport to cruise. So my question is is there a way to check an official OK to travel in each area.

 

Here in the US we have a confusing web of government responsibilities. There is federal, state, county, city/town and sometimes there are agencies that are governmental but that don't fit into any of those. When we talk about a disaster it is usually a county or more than one that is declared a disaster area, but that doesn't mean it is the entire county that is having the disaster. And "travel ban" is really not a phrase we use here. When something is happening somewhere there might be a decision to close the roads into the area but that is how it would be worded. Or often it is voluntary. For example officials might issue a "shelter in place" order, but all that means is, "We recommend that you stay inside." There typically isn't any legal force behind it.

 

In a disaster like the one in Houston there is so much that needs doing and resources spread so thin and where it is happening is so dispersed that no really takes the time to close roads or declare an area off limits. There are streets in Houston that are impassable because they are under water, but there isn't closed sign or a list of "travel bans" on those streets.

 

Also, coming back to the web of government I mentioned. I have lived in California my whole life and am sometimes surprised how different things can be in other states, but I'll tell you how it is here and I assume it would be the same in Texas... The highways are overseen by the state and it is the California Highway Patrol (CHP) who controls them and who would have the authority to shut them down. Even when they go through a city. Roads that are in a city or town (other than state highways) are controlled by the city/town. If the road it outside of a city/town it is controlled by the county. There are federal lands too and those would be controlled by the federal government. Then you have places that have multiple agencies overseeing it. Something like an airport. Here the airport is run by the city, but it has to meet federal regulations and the FAA has a lot of control too. So the airport could be shut down by either the city or the feds. I don't know who runs the Port of Galveston, but I would guess that it would be the city or county of Galveston, but again it has to meet federal regulations and the Coast Guard enforces those and has some control over the port. Either the country (or whoever runs it) or the feds could shut it down.

 

All this is to say that it isn't as simple as saying, "There is a travel ban in this county and that county." In this case, there aren't any travel bans that I am aware of, but certain things are shut down making travel at that spot impossible. For example the airports are shut down, so you can't fly in. Some roads aren't legally closed, but are underwater so they really are. In some cases if a road is a major enough thoroughfare, it may be officially shut down, with police blocking it or barricades out.

 

Not such an easy answer to your question and I'm not sure what your insurance will accept as a "travel ban" but I don't think in most cases you are going to be able to show them anything in that kind of wording.

[LadyFureya]

With the weather and road conditions improving, hopefully the stations will refuel soon. We filled up our rental car at Willowbrook Costco yesterday; nothing close to IAH/us.

 

The stations that are out in Dallas have been telling people that they will get their next shipment on Tuesday.

[LadyFureya]

What happened here where I live after Rita is people from down south in the disaster area were out of gas, so people with giant fuel tanks in the back of their pick up trucks (I don't know what you call it but it wasn't canisters... like a giant metal tank with pumps) came up the highway until they found available gas, and then would buy $500.00 and more of gas at a time to bring back and sell.

 

This drained our gas two hours away.

 

Yeah that's what I'm worried about now. I don't know if Houston gas stations are operational or on the verge of running out. Dallas people are still going about their normal business but since they are all topping off today...they're draining our supply and restocking the supply isn't supposed to happen until Tuesday (that's what many stations are saying in my area). As people continue to panic and stock up...and as people take weekend road trips, everything in the area will be depleted this weekend and some travellers could get stranded.

 

A police officer friend of mine says they've been responding to fights at gas stations all morning...

 

My mother in law was supposed to drive down from Oklahoma to see us today and I've advised that she don't come, for fear that she could get stranded if she runs out of gas.

[LadyFureya]

No problem for us, we usually drive our Prius to and back from Galveston with no gas needed until we get back to Schulenburg.

 

And as far as "panic refueling"?? I call it being prepared for a gas shortage and I would be doing the exact same thing. We filled our cars here in the San Antonio area Wednesday just because of that...however, no sign of gas shortage here that I know of.

 

When cops are breaking up FIGHTS at gas stations, that indicates that people are panicking. I'm not suggesting that they shouldn't be refueling, but there is definitely creeping panic setting in over here.

[Jabmrb]

Deleted

 

 

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Edited August 31, 2017 by Jabmrb

[Jabmrb]

Sorry mistake didn't mean to post

 

 

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