Tag: Hurricane Ike

Disaster Aftermath, Manufactured Homes, Quicklink

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TRAILERS AND MOBILE HOMES SCATTER IN BAYTOWN “In addition to the 871 uninhabitable apartment units left behind by Ike, the city also listed 123 single-family homes as uninhabitable and 60, from the Lakewood, Southwest Addition and Roseland, as destroyed. To assist these citizens while they try to rebuild, Baytown City Council wasted no time in passing an ordinance allowing mobile homes on uninhabitable property until the homeowners can make repairs and move back in. Those utilizing this program can only do so for six months, with two opportunities for renewal â€“ not to exceed 18 months. However, the city has said they wonâ€™t evict citizens making progress. ‘We have six people who are living in trailers on their private property for now,’ [planning and development director Kelly] Carpenter said. [FEMAâ€™s Ericka] Lopez said 12 households on private sites in Baytown have requested manufactured housing from FEMA so far.” [The Baytown Sun]

Baytown, Disaster Aftermath, Hurricane Ike, Manufactured Homes, Trailers

11/03/08 3:01pm

Galveston for Tourists: Not Quite Yet

Galveston, Tourism, Trees

3 Comments

Dead Trees in Galveston after Hurricane Ike

Sure, we’ve all heard about the damage to Galveston — from news reports and the sad tales of returning residents. But how’s the place looking to tourists? Lou Minatti took his kids for a visit over the weekend:

The island is in sad shape. But there were some bright spots. The Moody Gardens Aquarium is open, and since there are so few tourists they have greatly reduced the entrance fee. (The Rain Forest Pyramid is closed until further notice.) The kids did get to see a beautiful shrimp trawler up close. They were fascinated.

What struck me most was the fact that all of the trees are dead. All of the beautiful live oaks, planted soon after the 1900 hurricane, are no more. They were killed by the flood of salt water. The only trees to survive are the palms and Norfolk Island pines. My best guess is that every deciduous tree more than 5 blocks from the seawall is dead.

Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Hurricane Ike, The Strand, Tourism, Trees

Bolivar

10/23/08 9:07am

Bolivar Panoramas from the Air: Private Disaster Tours

Disaster Aftermath, Online Resources

Panoramic Aerial View of Nelson Lane, Crystal Beach, Bolivar Peninsula, after Hurricane Ike

Tired of looking at the same old images of Hurricane Ike devastation? Now, thanks to the amazing aerial camerawork of Dallas’s Hawkeye Media, you can conduct your own Bolivar Peninsula post-disaster flyover, focusing only on the destruction you want to see — from the comfort of your own broadband internet connection.

Hawkeye’s interface allows you to navigate through the company’s panoramic overhead views of wasted homes and newly desolate landscapes, zooming in and out as fast as your middle finger can scroll.

Bolivar Peninsula [Hawkeye Media, via SciGuy, via Hair Balls]

Photo of Nelson Lane, Crystal Beach: Hawkeye Media

77617, 77650, Bolivar, Disaster Aftermath, Hurricane Ike, Landscape, Online Resources

Financing

10/22/08 12:18pm

Gensler Layoffs

Houston Architects, Quicklink

4 Comments

GENSLER LAYOFFS A source who may have spent a little too much time with a chainsaw after Hurricane Ike reports on industry conditions: “It is super bad out there right now. Lending has absolutely ground to a halt. Most of my peers have almost zero pipeline beyond existing signed contracts or institutional work (esp. schools). [The Houston office of architecture firm] Gensler had layoffs this past week, though I would call laying off 16 people â€˜trimming the dead limbs off the tree.â€™” [Swamplot inbox]

Financing, Houston Architects, Hurricane Ike, Layoffs

10/20/08 12:58pm

Ruh-Roh: What Ike and Scooby-Do Did to Frank’s Grill

Restaurants

Franks Grill, 4702 Telephone Rd., Houston, after Hurricane Ike

Snapstream CEO Rakesh Agrawal finds the rooftop sign above Frank’s Grill on Telephone Road is still canine-consonant-challenged, a few weeks after Ike.

Frank’s Grill got Scooby-ified by Ike [Natuba, via Swamplot comments]

Photo: Rakesh Agrawal

77087, Disaster Aftermath, Gulfgate, Hurricane Ike, Telephone Road

10/17/08 12:31pm

Galveston Damage Map

Flooding, Galveston

3 Comments

Hurricane Ike Damage Assessment Map of Galveston East of 61st St.

FEMA-approved colors liven up this property-damage-assessment map for 24,000 structures in Galveston.

The red areas are “unsafe; leaning; structurally unsound; completely destroyed; collapsed or structure missing.”

Yellow means “general interior flooding; wind damage; or significantly damaged, but repairable.”

And green means go! “No damage or only minor damage; or missing siding; shingles; handrails; breakaway walls.”

The gray areas? “Flood zone.”

More colorful maps of other Hurricane-Ike-hit areas of the city are available on the City of Galveston website.

Damage Assessment Map for Areas 61st Street East, 61st Street West to Jamaica Beach, and Jamaica Beach West to San Luis Pass as of 10/15/08 [City of Galveston, via Hair Balls]
City Releases Damage Assessment Map & Issues Guidance for Property Owners [City of Galveston]

77550, 77551, 77554, Disaster Aftermath, Flooding, Galveston, Hurricane Ike

Construction Materials

10/16/08 9:59am

Got Mulch?

Disaster Aftermath, Green Design and Development, Landscape, Quicklink, Trees

5 Comments

GOT MULCH? What to do with the 5.6 million cubic yards of wood waste left after Hurricane Ike? The city doesn’t know either — so it’s sponsoring an ideas competition: “The contest will pay $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 for the top three ideas for how to best use the heaps of debris, which city officials have said would be enough to fill up the Astrodome nearly four times over. . . . So far, the city has given about 700,000 cubic yards of wood waste to two companies that will turn it into mulch and compost for resale. But the sheer volume of debris far outstrips local market demand for recycling it. . . . ‘We don’t want to have to fill up our precious landfill sites with a bunch of wooded waste, so we’re going to try to recycle all of it,’ [Mayor] White said. ‘It will probably be the single biggest recycling project that there is in the country this year.'” [Houston Chronicle; competition site]

Construction Materials, Disaster Aftermath, Green Design, Hurricane Ike, Landscape, Recycling, Trees

Art

10/15/08 2:49pm

Seen on the Street: Blown Away

Construction Materials, Disaster Aftermath, Humble, Seabrook, Spring, Trees, Wildlife

2 Comments

Van Missing Letters, Houston

A few fun — and not-so-fun — sights around town: First, Houston visitor Mike Smith’s photo shows some of the few letters left after Ike’s attack.

More hurricane photo souvenirs below!

77338, 77373, Art, Construction Materials, Disaster Aftermath, Humble, Hurricane Ike, Seabrook, Spring, Transportation, Trees, Wildlife

Construction Materials

10/06/08 3:15pm

Houston Streetside Lumber Yards

Disaster Aftermath, Quicklink

2 Comments

HOUSTON STREETSIDE LUMBER YARDS Hurricane Ike means . . . free wood! For the taking! To woodworker Jim Fuller, southwest Houston is in bloom: â€œ’Iâ€™m harvesting right now,’ he says. ‘Iâ€™ve got six or seven different types of wood â€“ live oak, white oak, some kind of cedar, a stewartia. I got a huge piece of sweetgum â€“ it was about 36 inches around and it was kind of hollow in the middle so I was able to saw it into planks right there. I also got a big magnolia, and thatâ€™s something you donâ€™t see very often.'” [Hair Balls]

Construction Materials, Disaster Aftermath, Hurricane Ike

Attractions

09/29/08 1:03pm

Hurricane Ike Turns a Warehouse into a Haunted House

Crosby, Disaster Aftermath, Industrial Properties, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail

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Last week Hair Balls blogger Dusti Rhodes reported that most Houston-area haunted-house attractions were faring pretty well after Hurricane Ike — and managed to elicit this gem from the owner of haunted-house chain Phobia:

Our customer base is still screwed over. We bet theyâ€™ll be happy to hear that the fake houses in the area have their power back.

Now from Crosby comes a different kind of Hurricane Ike haunted house horror story: A warehouse attached to auto accessories shop B&M Accessories received so much damage from the storm that the owners decided to scrap their plans to expand their store into it. Instead, they’re turning the entire building into . . . yes, a haunted house:

â€œWhen we first came and walked through, my son said it looked like a haunted house in here,â€ [co-owner Billy] Maness said.

Though the power was out around much of the community, two light bulbs flicked on at the mention of Halloween.

After some discussion it was decided: the eerie warehouse was to become Crosbyâ€™s House of Terror, a 9,000-square foot maze of Halloween fun and fear.

While others are mourning the loss of their homes and businesses, the duo turned their misfortune around, giving the entire community something to scream about. Since Sunday, theyâ€™ve been hard at work, not cleaning up, but ramping up the Halloween spirit unleashed by Hurricane Ike.

The Halloween attraction will open to the public on October 3. Less than a year ago, the building at 117 Ulrich Ln., off FM 2100 in Crosby, was Shooters Bar. Before that, it was called the Chicken Coop.

After the jump: design touches from Hurricane Ike!

77532, Attractions, Crosby, Disaster Aftermath, Haunted Houses, Hurricane Ike, Industrial Properties, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail

09/29/08 11:31am

Midsummer Books: 8 Feet Is Enough

Galveston, Insurance, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Retail

2 Comments

MIDSUMMER BOOKS: 8 FEET IS ENOUGH This fall was the final season for Midsummer Books, near the Strand in Galveston: “‘All those shops and restaurants on Strand, Mechanic and Postoffice were hit bad, and Midsummer Books got 8 ft of muddy water which soaked and ruined everything, books, furniture, computer equipment, etc.,’ owner Tim Thompson says by e-mail. ‘Luckily I have flood insurance so I will most likely get compensated for the loss. However, this is one of those times in life where tough decisions have to be made and for a variety of reasons I have decided not to ressurect Midsummer Books,’ he says.” [Hair Balls]

77550, Disaster Aftermath, Flooding, Galveston, Hurricane Ike, Insurance, Openings and Closings, Retail

Buying and Selling

09/29/08 11:13am

Wachovia Damage: Just Enough for the Citi

Retail, West University

Wachovia Sign after Hurricane Ike, Kirby Dr., Houston

No need to remake this hurricane-battered sign after all! Wachovia Bank‘s retail operations are being bought by Citigroup, ahead of any FDIC action. Which means all 30 or so Houston-area Wachovia retail locations will become Citibanks before the year is out.

Citigroup to buy Wachovia’s banking operations [Houston Business Journal]
Retail Damage Tour: Hurricane Ike Visits Kirby Dr. [Swamplot]
Previously in Swamplot: All Those Washington Mutual Branches Now Belong to JPMorgan Chase

Photo of Wachovia Bank branch on Kirby Dr.: Swamplot Inbox

77098, Buying and Selling, Hurricane Ike, Retail, West University

09/26/08 6:23pm

Seen on the Street: Convoy

Meyerland, Montrose, North Montrose

Tree Truck Convoy, Houston, after Hurricane Ike

Fun pix from around town: Part of a convoy of about 40 tree trucks headed down the Eastex Freeway last weekend, looking for a little bit of work.

More photos:

77006, 77096, Disaster Aftermath, Freeways and Toll Roads, Hurricane Ike, Meyerland, Montrose, North Montrose

09/25/08 5:23pm

Ike’s Toxic Imprint