I will never forget Hurricane Ike. It wasn't my first Hurricane, but it was my hardest to endure.

September 13th is remembered by Texans as the day Hurricane Ike made landfall.
Five years ago this morning, Ike came ashore in the Lone Star State, leaving in its wake one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Ike was the third costliest hurricane in American history, behind Hurricanes Katrina (2005)
and Sandy (2012), respectively, causing over $30 billion in damages in the United States alone.
Thousands of families were left homeless after the storm damaged or destroyed their homes. Power outages affected nearly three million people
at one point – some living without power for weeks on end. Portions of Galveston and Houston were not only left without power,
but these power outages and damage to clean water infrastructure left some areas without running water for a period of time as well.
Grocery stores experienced food shortages and gas stations experienced gas shortages. These humanitarian issues were compounded by the
hot, humid weather that followed Ike, and brought about a level of human suffering, though temporary, not typically seen in a developed country.

Here is a video taken by a neighbor, after the storm. It took 3 days for the roads to be cleared of fallen trees before we could venture out.
Tom and I didn't have direct damage to our house, but we lost our patio roof and our big pecan tree, one pine tree and almost all
of our fencing on the property. The house was completely covered in chopped leaves, like salad. It took days to clean it off.
No electricity for 10 days. No clean water for a week. No gasoline for 3 weeks after the storm.