45K people given OK to return to Galveston, Texas

[Dover]

Source: Associated Press Writers

By JUAN A. LOZANO and CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN



GALVESTON, Texas — One week after Hurricane Ike wiped out whole neighborhoods and nearly every basic service in Galveston, there is a plan to start letting some 45,000 evacuees back to their hobbled hometown.

Those who left heeded dire warnings to flee.

Now they've been given a new warning: Going home won't be easy.

No power, limited sewer services and spotty water utilities are among the trials that city officials say could await residents when a gradual reopening of Galveston begins next week.

"You will need to decide if you want to come back in those conditions," city manager Steve LeBlanc said Friday.

Residents will be allowed to return in phases, starting from the least damaged areas, primarily behind the seawall on the east side of the island, then out to the heavily damaged west end, he said.

There's only limited fuel and other supplies. But businesses are slowly beginning to open, electricity is coming back on and cell phone service is improving.

Residents of the harder-hit Boliviar Peninsula will also start seeing their homes next week, albeit for only a quick peek. And because the main road is impassible in many spots, residents will be loaded into dump trucks and other heavy vehicles for their tour....>


Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/Ike.html

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Also just heard on the radio that the insurance company that covered many of the houses is too small
to cover all the damage so it will eventually be picked up by the state.
Also they are saying that they may not allow rebuilding in some areas because insurance won't cover
it and it's too vulnerable to storm damage. How much, if anything, the state will be obligated to
compensate property owners for such a decision is an unknown and will need to be worked out.

[Dover]

1. For Ike's victims, trauma might take years to emerge

Evacuees might live with depression, anxiety and stress disorders
By Andrea Ball

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Rev. Lucinda Valenti sits on a folding chair in the Austin Convention Center, bowing her head and praying with a Hurricane Ike evacuee who might never see her home again.

Valenti is the Protestant chaplain at the shelter, which is packed with evacuees who fled the storm that ravaged Galveston and battered Houston. She prays with them. She talks to them. And mostly, she listens.

"I just feel lucky they're talking," Valenti said. "It's the ones that aren't talking that I worry about because they are still in shock."

When the shock wears off and the immediate crisis fades, the storm might continue to haunt them, mental health experts say. Many will face depression, anxiety, flashbacks and nightmares. Some will develop drug or alcohol problems. Their relationships could disintegrate, in part because of the unresolved mental health issues triggered by Ike.

"Everyone wants to be normal," said Dr. Corey J. Hebert, a physician and trauma specialist at Tulane University Medical Center. "You think you're over it, but you're not, and it affects every other area of your life."...>

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/20/0920evacuees.html

[cobalt1999]

4. This deserves it's own thread

If a person is already dealing with mental health issues, this can easily push them over the edge.

I've had one hurricane that destroyed my house, another that came close. The PTSD is real and hard to deal with when healthy.

[maddezmom]

2. Galveston unveils a three-phase return after Ike

Galveston unveils a three-phase return after Ike
Residents clamor for home despite health concerns
By TERRI LANGFORD, JAMES PINKERTON and BRADLEY OLSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
GALVESTON — Frustrations began to boil over Friday for tens of thousands of evacuees who sought to return home here as elected officials wrestled with the potential consequences.

Food remains scarce. Streets are almost entirely devoid of signs or stoplights. Most buildings lack power, and water and sewage systems suffered catastrophic damage. Tap water is undrinkable.

Yet Galveston officials continue to face mounting pressure from 40,000 people who fled Ike in a mandatory evacuation and want to come back .

Still reeling from a botched attempt to allow residents to "look and leave" earlier this week, Galveston leaders announced a tentative plan to open the island in three phases, beginning Friday or sooner.

Around the region, most cities lifted evacuation orders that prevented residents from returning. Jefferson County, as well as Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland, Port Neches and Groves lifted evacuation orders effective 6 a.m. today. Other coastal areas have not blocked roads but still hope people will stay away, fearing what may happen as supplies run out.

"We cannot support bringing people into the island because of health concerns," Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc said. "In fact, we have been asking people to leave."

more;http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6012435.html

[Dover]

3. Ike Fact or Fiction: Clearing the Hurricane Ike rumor debris

http://blogs.chron.com/weatheringike/ike_rumors/

[maddezmom]

5. Ike evacuees jump gun, sneak back onto island

Ike evacuees jump gun, sneak back onto island
By CAIN BURDEAU and ANGELA K. BROWN – 46 minutes ago

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Rats, raw sewage and a no-excuses curfew await exiled residents who try to return to storm-wrecked Galveston Island when it reopens next week, officials warned Saturday, a week after Hurricane Ike came thundering ashore.

Ugly as the city's last week and immediate future may be, the grim predictions didn't seem to scare some of the 45,000 evacuated islanders from trying to get home, even though most of the island won't open back up until Wednesday.

Another miles-long traffic jam clogged the only highway into the city Saturday. Some ignored orders to turn around, while others resorted to deception to sneak past police guarding a roadblock.

David Culpepper met his brother Joe in Atlanta, put a phony magnetic sign on a truck to masquerade as contractors and drove down to help a third brother, Michael, who owns an antiques shop on Galveston.

Guards at the checkpoint waved Joe and David Culpepper and right in.

more:http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jG1m4XT341oCKXPMIZlKffdhP9vwD93ANH5G9

[ohio2007]

6. It's true in this case "you can never go home"

after a storm like that, there is no home to return to

http://www.maroonspoon.com/wx/ike.html