Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

June 6, 2001

We had been warned that a tropical storm was headed toward Houston but the winds were well below hurricane strength and no one was particularly worried about it. Houston gets a lot of rain on a regular basis so we don't really get our panties in a bunch when rain is in the forecast. Tropical Storm Allison really looked like just a big rain storm and so it was business as usual in Houston.

She came, she went, we had a little bit of flooding but nothing unusual, life went on.

Then Allison pulled a fast one. On June 8, 2001 she made an unexpected turn and headed back toward Houston. Then, rather than moving on she decided to stay a while. The storm stalled out over the city and in a 24 hour period there were parts of Houston that received almost 38 inches of rain.

It was unbelievable. Scott was stuck downtown, he and a couple of co-workers had managed to find a hotel room but the roads were flooded and he was unable to come home. I sat alone in the dark with my 10 week old baby wondering if I'd ever see my husband again. I live on a cul de sac and the circle out in front of my house was a lake. I have to give credit to the engineers who designed the drainage for my neighborhood though, when the sun came up on June 9 there wasn't even a standing puddle in my yard. Scott managed to get home late that afternoon.

His building, one of the main highrise office buildings in downtown Houston, was closed for two months due to flood damage. The total damage exceeded 5 billion dollars. Allison has the dubious honor of being the only tropical storm to ever have her name retired without ever hitting hurricane strength.

No one expects Rita to drop anywhere near as much rain as Allison. However, we will have hurricane force winds to contend with. They are already evacuating Galveston, as of tomorrow morning it will be mandatory, the areas near the bay and shipping areas will be evacuated tomorrow and several school districts have announced school closures for tomorrow through the end of the week.

I've got a family of five who will be staying with me for the duration (starting tomorrow night.) A man, his wife, their two children and their 96 year old grandmother. I'm concerned about keeping grandma cool enough if the power goes out. My parents will be leaving the city tomorrow morning, Daddy has to sleep with a C-PAP machine so he HAS to have power available to him. This ought to be interesting!

I probably won't post until after this is over. Fellow Houstonians, please let me know if I can help in any way. I hope everyone has a great weekend with minimal storm damage.