I just got hold of D/21 D/C Jean Hamilton who rode out the storm in her high rise condominium near the Galleria section of Houston. She has no power, but you can reach her on her land phone line (713)785-6817.
She has heard from P/D/C Tom and Mary Derden that they are in Austin and safe, and also P/D/C Charles Ashford who is safe in Dallas.
We do not have a status on anyone else yet, nor the status of homes and property in the affected area.
Here in Dallas the winds and rain are just now picking up at 1PM Central time as we prepare for the tail end of the storm which could be a category 1 here.
It appears we will only get gusts of about 35 MPH while areas east of the Dallas area are getting 45-50 MPH winds.
The Nasa Bay Hilton where we were planning on having our D/21 Conf has sustained some damage, but we are not yet sure of the extent nor how it will affect it being ready to host the conf in Oct. From the pictures on the TV starions, it looks like the Marina there is totally destroyed.
The Kemah, Sea Brook, and Galveston areas have been hit very hard with flooding and high winds. Local TV stations are indicating the Kemah Boardwalk and some homes in the SeaBrook area have been destroyed or very heavily damaged. Over the water casinos and hotels in Galveston have been destroyed as well as some marinas.
The good news is that we have not yet heard of any deaths or injuries.
We will try to keep you updated as we hear more.
Regards,
D/Lt/C Shirley Heald, AP
District 21 Executive Officer
Shirley D. Heald on 9/13/2008 1:12 PM
