What Evacuation?

As much frustration as you all seem to have with your city officials, most everyone did get out alive except for people who drove into flood waters. Our death toll has and will be far far less than Katrina which was a weaker storm. I think our officials did the best they could with the little time they had.

People are pissed at Bay City for being evacuated. Others are pissed for not being evacuated soon enough.

It's up to you, not the government, to make sure you and your family is safe. We all knew about this storm my Wednesday evening, Thursday morning at the latest. If you don't watch the news, it was all over our newsfeeds. I'm not trying to be rude..  Just trying to explain so next time you can get you and your family out long before the officials ever call for you to do so. We played it safe and got us and our family to safety Thursday morning. We were still in the red but we got us to higher ground.

It is also my understanding that most shelters especially in Matagorda County and the outer lying areas were accepting pets. I have several friends who stayed at shelters with theirs.

There was no excuse to stay behind. I can say that even knowing my dad was one of the idiots who stayed behind. Just because everyone else is staying in a town about to be leveled doesn't mean that you should.

This is the coast and we all knew it was only a matter of time before a storm like this hit. Everyone should have had an escape plan long before this storm ever showed up. Why should the government have to tell you to be safe?

(Posted elsewhere.. But relevant here as well)
A post by Katie k.

Itty Bitty Tropical Storm

This is just a little something, written by a friend of mine, Katie Kidney

Last Wednesday, Texans woke up to a little bitty tropical storm knocking on their coastline. We all shook our heads at it and went along our way.

Then, we were forced to evacuate our little lakeside lot. We were upset, confused, and frustrated. We really didn't have the means to evacuate, but evacuate we did.. Across town. We weren't sure we were far enough from harm's way, but we knew this storm would be a Category 1 at best.

You all know now that we were terribly wrong but by the time Texans knew this, it was already too late for many of us to evacuate. We knew if we evacuated we probably wouldn't make it back. So we stayed.

For six days, we went without electricity - and for three of those days, we were cut off completely from the outside world -  except for those friends who kept me updated via text. I owe Delta Book, Andi Leigh Bradford, and Walter Thompson so many thanks for keeping me updated..

But nothing prepared me for the images and the footage of my home.  The destruction goes on for miles and miles along our coast and my stomping grounds are either filled with flood waters, about to be, or flattened to the ground.

All of my friends got out alive. Some have nothing to return to. If you can donate to Texas, please do, but even if you don't, remember, Texas HAS seen worse, and Texas WILL rebuild.

And if you say something about how Texans deserve this, well, honey, we will just bless your heart and continue helping one another (I bet you expected violence from me, huh? 😂)

Two things to remember about us down here: We are #TexasStrong but we are also #TexasKind.

Hurricane Harvey can kiss all of our asses.