Hurricane Ike: One month later

A month ago, we were just starting to see the damage left behind by Hurricane Ike. Since then, life has returned back to normal for many in the Houston area. The power is on. The tree branches are cleaned up. Roof damage is being repaired. For those who live closer to the coast, however, the Road to Recovery will take a lot longer.

I took a drive around the area to see first-hand how the rebuilding was coming along. Traffic is moving on the island once again. But many of the cars have logos on the sides advertising insurance, mold remediation and construction companies. There are a few tourists. But these folks aren't here for the beach, because there is none. People are taking pictures of the debris and the signs of Ike which are everywhere.

Our friends in Galveston are back home, and have started tearing out wet floors and walls, removing the damaged appliances and furniture. FEMA reports 66,000 people in Galveston County have requested help. The city has already issued hundreds of permits so residents can repair or rebuild their damaged homes. Although finding a construction company to complete the repairs is another challenge. The city is busy removing debris which continues to pile up along almost every residential street in town.

Driving along Bolivar Peninsula, it's still difficult to tell where you are. The view in all directions is exactly the same: nothing. The power companies are busy putting up power poles but very little has changed. And outside of the utility crews, there are no people here. Occasionally you see a sign that someone has tacked onto a board marking the location of their lot. But the rebuilding has not started here yet. Off in the distance, you can still see cars buried in the sand. It's like visiting a ghost town.

You've probably seen the picture of the lone house left standing in Gilchrist. A couple of miles to the east, there's another group of homes you probably haven't heard about. All of them are about 15 feet above the ground. I'm sure when they were first built, the neighbors thought these looked out of place compared to the homes built much lower. But these house survived because they were high enough to keep them out of Ike's surge. Everything underneath was washed away, including the stairs you climb to get inside.

Homeowners on the west end of Galveston Island have started making repairs. Here on Pirate's Beach, the buildings are still standing although many have substantial damage. Homes right along the water can't be fixed until the beach is rebuilt. As you can see in the picture to the right about six feet of sand was washed away by the storm surge. What's left of the protective "Geotube" is visible in the water.

There are signs of progress and yet there is still so much work to do.