In The Vortex

Author: David Drummond

  • Hurricane Ike On the Road Update 6

    In the wee hours of the morning here. Winds finally were getting up high enough it was forcing some water around the window seals in the building, but the glass held. Not sure what the winds speeds where at this high up on the 6th floor. It got to roaring pretty good there for a while and then it stopped just like that as the eye came over.

    It’s cloudy in the eye, but the moonlight is giving an eerie glow to everything and you can just make out things down on the ground, but there is also a spooky fog that is settling in.

    We can see various amounts of damage around the condo here with our spotlights. Took a trip down to street level with security and the flood waters, at least here, have receded back a block or two. This building sits on a little bit of a hill two blocks from the beach.

    After the eye passes I think we are going to try and get a couple hours of sleep so we can be out at first light. Sorry, no video blog this time.

  • Hurricane Ike On the Road Update 5

    We have now taken shelter in the condo and secured the chase vehicle on the 5th floor in a well protected concrete parking garage, so it won’t be damaged or endure any storm surge. We’re up on the 6th floor in the huge lobby. There is a large deck out in front of it with 3 swimming pools that overlooks the beach and it’s all glassed in with hurricane proof glass, 1.5 inches thick.

    Nearly midnight now and the winds are hitting over 100 mph outside, but we can barely hear them. I don’t think we could have had a safer place to ride it out on the island to be honest. We are so appreciative of the staff here for welcoming us in and making us feel at home.

    Power went out across Galveston right after sunset, all at once. The only places with power are like here and the hospital, etc that have their own generators. The Sprint tower is on the roof of this condo and we actually still have high speed internet here as well. Amazing!

    One thing is for sure. We will have one heck of a view of the damage come first light, and a great place to experience the eye when it comes over.