Another Ike Update

Well, we finally heard from Keith's sister- a cell tower was out in her area (as is the power) so she wasn't able to call or receive calls until yesterday afternoon. She and her son are fine, and their house only has a little roof damage, some leaking, and some fence damage.

Keith's brother Jay lives in Groves, which is near Beaumont and Port Arthur. They evacuated, but still aren't being allowed back into their community due to flood waters. One of their relatives stayed in Groves to ride out the storm, and she was able to go look at their house, but just from the outside. Their front porch and car port are completely gone, and they have a hole in their roof, but until they can get inside, they're not sure yet about how bad the damage is inside.

Keith's parents were still without power when we spoke with them last night. Someone in their ward had a generator, and families were taking 6 hour shifts so they could plug in their refrigerators, freezers, A/C, etc. A member of their ward is on a breathing machine, and although he evacuated to Austin to stay with relatives, he came back before the power was back on in their subdivision, and now the generator has to stay with him.

FEMA came to their area, but had no food or water for the residents....or for themselves! They were asking people in the area to feed them, and I believe house them also, so the residents just told them to leave, that they would take care of themselves.

Again, we are grateful though that no one in Keith's family was injured, and that most of their property was okay.