Evacuation of Houston

[1952Sniper]

My younger brother lives in Houston and left last night. He posted this on another board today. I thought it was interesting enough to repost here.

Part 1

I'm writing this to let you all know that after 10 hours of driving what should have been a 2.5 hour drive, I'm safely at my Dad's in Austin.

I'll call this first part "The Long Haul".

The wife and I had decided to bug out after checking the 10pm news to see what the situation was on the roads. At about 6pm the roads were clearly over crowded and causing people problems. After watching the news I told my wife we needed to leave because it wasn't going to get any better, and probably worse. So we set out at 10:30pm wednesday night.

We hopped down to the inner loop (I-610) and went west, headed over for the I-10 / Hwy 290 intersection areas. Took all of 10 minutes to get there. Just before the I-10 exit ramp I had my first sign that this was not to be good, easy, or fun. 2 relatively young men were seen by myself and my wife riding bicycles in the middle of the interstate, between cars... going the opposite direction of traffic flow. We just looked at each other and my thought was, 'thus it begins'.

Over the next 3 hours we moved a total of 15 miles. We had made it to the 290 exit and had successfully managed to avoid the numerous 'taps' people were getting from the car behind them on their rear bumpers. this would spawn one person to get out and check his rear bumper for damage, people overly exaggerating their steering to avoid the now pedestrian. I saw about 5 or 7 of these in this 3 hour period alone.

After about 2.5 hours of sitting in this traffic and seeing the numbers of people running out of gas, the lines at the gas stations by the highway, the obviously closed stations that had run out of gas, and the very little distance I'd come, I began to get nervous. I had 7/8 of a tank of gas, but sitting at idel for almost 3 hours wasn't going to last. I knew I had to do something, but I didn't know what.

I picked up the map and started scanning it for any other available roads that I could think of to take me west. I wasn't going to any evacuation point. In fact, as the logic struck me, as I had told all my coworkers, 'I ain't leaving cause of the storm. I'll be damned if I'm going to be around this many stupid people in this sh*tty of a situation." So, what the hell was I doing sitting in gridlock with the same stupid people I wanted to get away from????

I threw on my blinker, worked my way across 3 lanes of traffic and got off at the next exit. I took the road south, then took the next main intersection west. Continually looking at the map, I didn't care what road I was on as long as I was moving west. About half an hour later, I was 50 miles out of Houston proper, in a small outskirt town called Katy.

I-10 is not an evacuation route, where 290 was. I-10 is known for its construction and does hold an alternate route to Austin (via Hwy 71). My goal was to get close enough to I-10 to parallel it and see if it was as much gridlock as 290 was. To my surprise, they were not at a standstill, but moving at about 15 mph.

I stayed parallel to I-10 as long as I could until I was forced, by a bad decision to not turn around and take a different path, to get on I-10. I wasn't too upset though as there was another alternate path about 5 miles up the road, and traffic was moving at least.

I ended up staying on I-10 for the next 45 miles or so all the way down to 71. It was about 3am when I finally got on I-10. By this time, loads of people were stopping on the side of the road, from exhaustion, to an overheated car, to having run out of gas. Traffic was actually lifting to some degree. Several times I found myself going 40-45 mph.

I was still worried about gas. I was unable to acquire any gas canisters to pack extra gas (my one preparation mistake). However, I'd called ahead to my Dad who'd gotten me 2 5-gallon cans filled up in Austin. So as long as I made it to 71, and gotten a decent way toward Austin for him to run gas out to me, I figured I'd be fine.

I pulled out my GMRS radio from my go-bag after I saw a few people talking on theirs on the highway. I scanned the channels and just listened in when I heard chatter. From this, I was able to learn that there was no gas well beyond where 71 was. So 71 was looking better and better. My wife was getting nervous about gas. But I was becoming less so. About 20 miles away from the turn off, I still was over 1/2 tank.

After 4 hours on a 45 mile strip, we finally made it to 71. As I'd said to my wife, 'Consider it this way. Half the people on I-10 are going to San Antonio, half are going to Austin. If half the people get off on 71, we've still decreased the traffic density by half. Thus we should be moving faster.'

To my delight, at the 71 exit, I saw 2 cars in front of me exit, and only one car behind me exit. 71 is not a fast road. There's stop lights, intersections that crossed roads that looked like I-10 and 290, and 71 goes through Bastrop, a known speed trap town. So the going was still slow. The 88 miles into Austin still took about another 3 hours, but this also included a restroom break, and fill up at the first gas station that was moderately empty on the north side of Bastrop. This was the first gas stations I had seen with gas the entire trip. We also got caught up in morning Austin traffic as we were rolling into town in the 7am hour.

We safely arrived at my Dads at about 8:30am; 10 hours later.

As I pulled onto Mopac (Hwy 1) in Austin to head up to my Dad's street, the phone rang. It was a lab partner. He had left Houston from the far south side (Pearland) at roughly the same time I had. He was calling me from Katy.

He was considering turning around because he was going nowhere. He'd been on the road for 10 hours and covered less than half the distance I had. I told him to stay put. I had heard on the news that they were already working with TXDOT to open up the inbound lanes to outbound traffic for I-45 to Dallas, and were working out the logistics to do the same with 290 and I-10. I told him to pull over, get a few hours sleep and wait for them to open the highways up so that the traffic density would be less. If he was still concerned with the flow of traffic, he could always come up to Austin on 71, which was pretty empty, then hit I-35 south (the direction no one is travelling) and make it back to San Antonio in about the same time as just riding it out on I-10. I'm glad I convinced him to press on. With an infant and wife in the car, and a house only 2 miles from the storm surge area, I would have worried had he turned back.


So, that's just what happened. But I'd like to include a few observations about the journey.

First off, being on 290:
People were having wrecks. People were getting out of cars, running up to the car in front of them, knocking on their windows, asking people stuff, then running off. There were pedestrians in the street. The majority of cars were nothing I'd drive on a highway for more than a mile. I was quite nervous being on this road.

But I'll tell you something about that situation that made me more nervous. Leaving it. That uncertainty of going against the mainstream was a very strange experience. Here I know I'm thinking that I must not be one of the sheeple! But, leaving the herd... that was hard, and if I must say myself, brave. Taking unfamiliar roads in a bad section of town with my wife in the car at 2:30 in the morning was not a comfortable decision. But I did it, and it payed off. So lesson one: Don't be part of the herd.

Being on I-10:
This was a different situation completely. As I scanned the radio, I caught a couple talking who'd gotten separated in traffic. She was tired, he wasn't. She wanted to stop for a nap, he didn't. Kind of a funny and cute argument. Very humanistic. He was ahead of her and when she said she wanted to stop, he agreed to find a safe place. What I remembered hearing that caught my ear was that he'd found a place to stay. His message was, 'Yeah, it's safe up here. These are good Christian people.'

There were plenty of other calls I heard too for buddies to stop up ahead and help out this guy (stranger) who'd run out of gas. There were quite a few pickup trucks carrying livestock and horses and the like. People were very courteous about letting them in and out of traffic. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, who I saw on the side of the road with their hoods up having engine problems had at least 2-3 cars around them with people trying to help out. Now whether these were travelling companions or just Texans helping Texans, it was a very uplifiting sight to see. It made me proud to be a Texan. So lesson number two: When forced to be part of a herd, better to be part of a voluntary herd than a mandatory one.


I made it to Austin, safe and sound. The wife and I busted ass every night this week to pack our stuff up and take what we felt we couldn't replace. I'm very proud of her and myself for taking that challenge on early, being prepared, and having the piece of mind on this end of the trip that no matter what happens, the important things in life (us and our irreplaceables) are safe.

What a learning experience this has been. I'll write a bit later about some of my other thoughts and observations about the journey after I crash a while. Been up for about 30 hours straight and the coffee is starting to wear off.

We're safe.

[Marlin]

Glad to hear they're safe, Sniper. Latest news (FoxNews-TV & TWC, both) I saw 1155 hrs CT, said that the traffic out of Houston is stopped B to B for 100 miles and that emergency means are under way to supply gas to those that are running out and cannot get off to get it. It would seem to me that is an IMPOSSIBLE task under the circumstances.

I'd say, your good judgement and God being on your side was the contributing factor to your safe arrival.

[TheIceMan]

Stay safe..

[358 winchester]

I think I will buy a couple of mules and a wagon ! Don't laugh think about it for a minute.

[LIKTOSHOOT]

Call me a mean ole guy, why are people waiting so long to leave---then expecting it to be smooth sailing.......why???
Oh-forgot.......Katrina did wake up anyone, so we`re gonna wait and see if Rita is really that bad and big.....GHEESH!

LTS

[1952Sniper]

Just wanted to reiterate that this was my younger brother's story, not mine. I was intelligent enough to move away from Houston 4-1/2 years ago and now reside "high and dry" up in the Hill Country.

Incidentally, the house I moved out of was in Seabrook, south of Houston and right on Galveston Bay, where Clear Lake dumps into it. About a month or two after I moved out, a tropical storm blew in and flooded the area. There was 5 feet of water in that house. Had I not moved when I did, I would have lost everything. And in this latest hurricane, I doubt that house will survive. It'll be destroyed. Either by wind or flood water, it won't survive. Unfortunately, I have a lot of friends still down there who I haven't heard from. I can only hope they're safe.

One friend in Houston proper bugged out early this morning and will hopefully be arriving here this afternoon to crash at my place. The wife and I are also going to be receiving some horse evacuees. In fact, our area is being flooded (no pun intended) with people who are fleeing the Houston area with their horses and need somewhere to lodge them for a few days. We're all helping where we can. And God knows I like horses more than people, so these are the types of refugees I like to have!

[1952Sniper]

Call me a mean ole guy, why are people waiting so long to leave---then expecting it to be smooth sailing.......why???

Because it was less than 24 hours ago that the storm started jogging north to the Houston area. Before that, it was only the coastal areas that were being evacuated. You can't reasonably expect people to evacuate from 50-60 miles inland for a storm that isn't supposed to land there. They kinda had to wait until they knew whether the brunt of the storm was heading their way.

[22WRF]

71 was always my regular way to go to Austin.
Good 4 lane divided road.

If I was making that trip in this evac from Houston it would have been 59 south to Hi way 6 or better 36 North to Katy over to Columbus and hit 71 to La Grange and Austin.


The traffic cams show very little traffic on 59 S.

[SouthernMoss]

Sniper, thanks for posting your brother's tale. Glad he made it out safely.

[358 winchester]

I have never seen an armadillo die in a storm I am going to find out where they go and get there first by way of mule and wagon

[inplanotx]

Glad your brother made it sniper!

[LIKTOSHOOT]

Sniper, it was not a shot at you or your brother. Just people in general. And this Wens. was not the first day folks new- The tract was forcasted days ago, and no matter where you were-----this storm was nearly 300 miles across. It hit Cat five the morning it passed the tip of Florida and it`s direction was known then, guess some people think unless the eye hits right on your area.........your safe or can wait.

We will get some of it where we are. High winds-up to 24" of rain, tornados. And if it stalls as they predict, it could get worse.

I`ll admit, we can use every inch of rain, don`t care for the tornados.
It will make hunting camp much better though---cause it opens in a few weeks and wet ground makes it easier to slip around. Instead of walking on crunchy leaves. Course only if camp is above water---lol


LTS

[inplanotx]

It will make hunting camp much better though---cause it opens in a few weeks and wet ground makes it easier to slip around. Instead of walking on crunchy leaves. Course only if camp is above water---lol

Yup, haven't heard a word yet. Need to try out the new tires!

[Shooter45]

WARNING !!!

Don't go there IPT. Remember last time ??

Toby, glad your brother made it safe and sound.

[Crpdeth]

Toby...

Requesting permission to repost your brothers story on a preparedness forum that I frequent.

Thanks either way Man, glad your Brother is safe.

Crpdeth

[glocknut]

Originally Posted by LIKTOSHOOT

Call me a mean ole guy.....

OK....

LTS.. you are one mean ole, onwry, tougher than shoe leather, contankerous, mean ole guy.....who likes Glocks with high cap mags !!!!!!

Hows that ??

mike
gn

[LIKTOSHOOT]

Folks, if you are in contact with anyone on the road......the pack mentality has taken over. Tell them to "get off IH45" and use FM and State hiways......most of these are clear or have traffic following at good speed.



LTS

[1952Sniper]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

Toby...

Requesting permission to repost your brothers story on a preparedness forum that I frequent.

Thanks either way Man, glad your Brother is safe.

Crpdeth

Sure, this is the kind of story that's always good to share with people who realize the importance of being prepared and not being a lemming like the rest of the population.

He should be posting a part 2 to the story in the near future. There was a lot more to it but he was too tired to post it all at one time.