The Other Victims From Hurricane Ike

Obviously Houston, Galveston and other Texas cities bore the brunt of the storm but several Midwestern states experienced winds and storms that caused a great deal of damage and loss of life.

After Sunday's storm 2.6 million homes and business' were without power.  As of Wednesday 900,000 were still without power in Ohio and 300,000 were without power in Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.

Ohio has said that Hurricane Ike had claimed 6 lives in their state.

In my little part of the world, Southeastern Indiana, driving through the area on Sunday after the winds receded made you think that you were driving through a war zone.

Police cars zoomed by with their lights on, street lights were off, and century old trees were laying on their sides completely uprooted.  This site would be amazing enough except that many of those trees found a resting place on top of homes and cars. 

In later days gas prices rose and long lines formed at gas stations.  Once grocery stores regained their power and they reopened their doors they quickly ran out of necessities such as milk, bread and batteries.

I still have family without electricity.  The delay was prolonged even longer because utility companies had dispatched their workers to Texas to help with their extraordinary needs.  It took some time for them to return.

The sustained winds at a speed greater than what our area is used to, for a matter of a few hours is what led to most of the trees eventually toppling or splitting at the top.

In the end it was simply an experience.  It was an experience that drew friends, family, and neighbors closer as the lucky few with power opened up their homes to share food, beds, and hot showers.  There is a silver lining to most, if not all stories and this charity among friends and family is certainly part of that silver lining.

That and the fact that some people will be paying for three weeks instead of four weeks of power on their electric bill.