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From the sea-swamped neighborhoods of Galveston to the pine-covered hills north of Houston, people across Southeast Texas awoke Saturday to a stunning tableau of devastation caused by the passage of Hurricane Ike, the first hurricane in a quarter-century to score a direct hit on the state’s most populous region.

The official insistence that it could have been much worse ”” Ike’s late eastward drift lessened a storm surge that had been predicted as apocalyptic ”” was little consolation to residents whose homes were wrecked by water, falling trees and winds that gusted in places well in excess of 100 mph. Or even to those facing an indefinite stay in a hot, dark home that emerged unscathed.

The full extent of the property damage as well as the human toll was still coming into focus late Saturday. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff could not yet put a dollar amount on damage, except to say that it would likely rival some of the “legendary” damage figures of storms past.

“By any measure, it was a huge storm,” Chertoff said.

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Like many of you we’re trying to get word on what’s happening in Southeast Texas. My folks and eldest son along with Stacy’s family are in Galveston and Harris Counties. We still have our home in League City and many, many friends in the area from our old parish. Our prayers are with you all there.

Here in Louisiana we’re seeing damage worse than Gustav and in some cases comparable with Rita. There’s flooding on the North Shore, levees breaching down south; the poor River Parishes were just sorting themselves out after Gustav and then took another huge pounding. We have friends in Baton Rouge still without power. There will be good and timely updates on our diocesan website: www.edola.org. Bishop Jenkins is working overtime to keep us updated and together.

New Orleans made it through, just some heavy wind gusts and rain. We had the day off from school and work on Friday. I’ve talked to quite a few people, however, who are thinking seriously about leaving the area; they’re worn out. Folks here seem to be taking stock of their lives and situations. “Reflective” is not a mood we often encounter here. I’m still shaken by a former staff member’s suicide and was too depressed on Friday to start working on the house and putting my office back together. This morning I went to bring Communion to a parishioner in hospital; this helped me get my bearings. She told me on the way out, “It was so nice to spend time with you and my Jesus.” Reminded me why I felt called to parish ministry in the first place. I’m looking forward to seeing the whole crew at Sunday Services.

For friends in Texas and Western Louisiana, do know of our prayers and let us know what you need when you need it. We’ll be there for you. And remember no matter how bad it looks, God is faithful and holds you in His hands. Blessings,

–The Reverend Jerry and Stacy Kramer, Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans,

Hurricane Ike’s storm surge flooded Galveston’s historic district early Saturday, sparked fires and knocked out power.

Heavy winds continued to pummel the coastal region more than four hours after the storm made landfall as a Category 2 storm.

It has since weakened to a Category 1, the National Hurricane Center said in its 9 a.m. ET update.

Galveston County’s Emergency Management Coordinator John Simsen urged residents to be patient at a 7 a.m. briefing.

“We have a lot of work to do in terms of damage assessment,” he said. “We don’t understand yet what we’re dealing with …

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For those interested.

Dear All,

Thanks so much for your love and prayers during the run-up to Gustav. Much of the impact area is still without power. We quipped — but not joked! — after Katrina that FEMA should put the Southern Baptists in charge. Well apparently they heard us. The Southern Baptists have taken over our parking lot at Annunciation and are cooking 4,000 meals a day. These are being distributed through the Salvation Army. You can see pics of the massive operation up on our website: www.annunciationbroadmoor.org

Just checked the weather blogs (www.wunderground.com) and Ike looks to be heading into the Gulf. We could be heading home next week just in time for another evacuation. Please keep the prayers coming! We don’t like Ike! Know of our prayers daily,

jerry+ op

P.S. Thanks again for all who so generously hit the Pay Pal button so we could afford gas and evacuation supplies. Couldn’t have made it without you . . . literally!!!

The Reverend Jerry and Stacy Kramer
Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans, LA 70125

Check out our websites: Church www.annunciationbroadmoor.orgMission www.annunciationmission.org

Yuck.

Hanna’s path early Tuesday appeared to be a “meandering” loop across the Turks and Caicos Islands, but atmospheric changes over the western Atlantic are expected to steer the storm northwestward over the next two or three days, according to forecasters.

As of 2 a.m., Hanna was a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with 80 mph top winds.

While the hurricane center forecasters said “only modest changes in intensity are anticipated” over the next day or two, Hanna is expected to gain strength before landfall.

Hanna’s line of fire could include the U.S. Atlantic coast from Miami to Massachusetts, according to the hurricane center’s long-range forecast map. Charleston, South Carolina appears in the middle of this “cone of uncertainty,” with Hanna potentially making landfall there Friday.

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Oh my.

Monday 6p

Dear All,

Apparently a Baton Rouge TV station was showing an old clip of the levees breaching during Katrina. Some national media outlets picked up on this and called it “live footage.” NOLA.com picked up on this and caused further panic. It seemed to us that some in the media were hoping to have something “major” to report. But the levees in New Orleans are holding. Never thought I’d say this but, “Go Corps!” Gustav is proving to be a “wind event.” Lots of tree limbs and power lines down in NOLA. You can check out what’s happening in our neighbourhood at www.broadmoorimprovement.com.

We still haven’t received an assessment from Lafayette which experienced very high winds. A school in Houma is completely gone, probably a tornado. A private levee in Plaquemines is breaching and threatening a subdivision which should be completely evacuated. We’re talking hundreds people (awful for them, yes) not thousands. More sensationalism.

Here on the North Shore we’re getting some gusts and rain but all is well. Eating chips and salsa. Hearing that power will be restored to much of New Orleans by tomorrow morning. School, etc. has been canceled until Monday to allow for a phased re-entry and clean up.

Thank you for all of your prayers, love, support and encouragement. You’ve sustained us mightily for these past three years. Please keep all of us, but especially the folks in the River Parishes and along the Mississippi Coast, in your prayers. We’re going to need to help those folks.

It’s a blessing to have such awesome friends! We’ve heard from people in the past few days whom we haven’t communicated with since Africa days.

Looking forward to a raucous Service of Thanksgiving with my congregation and our neighbourhood when they all drag back into town.

Prayers,

–The Reverend Jerry and Stacy Kramer, Church of the Annuncation, New Orleans

Lashing the southern Bahamas with 75-mph winds, Hanna grew into a Category 1 hurricane Monday afternoon, and with forecasters predicting a turn toward Georgia and South Carolina, Charleston and other coastal counties shifted into storm mode.

Forecasters said Monday that Hanna could make landfall Friday or Saturday somewhere between Florida and North Carolina, with the latest track taking the eye through Savannah.

Right behind Hanna was another storm system that forecasters say could develop into another threatening hurricane by midweek. Its name would be Ike.

“We are now at the height of hurricane season, and for those who have not done so already, it is time to gather supplies and review family emergency plans in order to be prepared,” said Cathy Haynes, Charleston County Emergency Preparedness Director.

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Dear All,

We are in the worst of Gustav until about 12p – 1p. Thank you so much for prayers. And God be praised. Much, much better than we had feared. Moving from cautiously optimistic to optimistic. New Orleans will not see hurricane winds. Some 70mph gusts. But sustained 45mph only. Whipping up pretty good here on the North Shore but still have power.

About 100,000 people without power. Concern now tornadoes.

Dry air from Texas kept Gustav from exploding over the Gulf. The eye-wall is breaking up and approaching the coast as only a CAT 2. Sudden turn to the west, hugging the LA coast, good for New Orleans. Storm surge less than anticipated. The parishioner we are staying with insists that angels ripped Gustav apart overnight.

Word is that power workers will be out tonight restoring the downed lines, etc.

2,000,000 people evacuated. Less than 10,000 people left in New Orleans (50,000+ stayed behind during Katrina).NOPD found only 15 people on the streets yesterday. Handicapped/elderly/indigent all moved to safety. No arrests for looting. Pretty good for an area that is still very broken and knee deep in recovery. Biggest problem was slow traffic flow.

Please keep prayers coming. Pray especially for the folks directly on the LA and Mississippi coast where they’re getting hammered. We could possibly be home by tomorrow afternoon or thereabouts if things hold the same. Know of our prayers.

–The Reverend Jerry and Stacy Kramer, Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans

Ugh.

Sunday 5:30p

Dear All,

We had a $7 pork roast in the fridge which we didn’t want to go to waste (my frugal wife still has her first Communion money). So our family is finishing up a nice pre-evacuation dinner at home. It’s actually a lovely evening right now. A little sun, a little breeze with some gusts.

Awfully quiet outside! More than 1 million people have bugged out of the area in ample time. The National Guard are here and in place patrolling. Nice to have a new governor who doesn’t need adult supervision.

Besides the vastly improved government response, our church and Broadmoor neighbourhood have performed brilliantly. A lot of really amazing and talented people working together — with some hard earned experience under their belts — can make all the difference.

None of this would be possible without God’s grace and our many, many friends from all over. The emails and text messages (no calls please, need to keep the lines free) have been most encouraging. We’re especially grateful to all whose prayers and resources have helped us with the gas, supplies, etc. needed to evacuate.

Personally I’ve been near catatonic when it’s come to packing up. And now I’m having a hard time getting in the car and heading out. Neither Max the guinea pig (who still has terrible PTSD) nor I really want to leave.

Feeling a bit better, however, as the latest weather updates show a weaker Gustav staying a bit more west of us. All good news. I’m praying to be back on campus in a couple days or so. Maybe this will just be a good rehearsal and confidence builder. Last time I thought we’d be back in a few days we spent nearly two years in the parking lot! Whatever comes our way, God is good.

Sign-off blessings from New Orleans,

–The Reverend Jerry and Stacy Kramer serve at Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans

Check it out.

As forecasters warned Hurricane Gustav could hit Louisiana on Monday with devastating effect, officials pleaded with Gulf Coast residents to flee and Republicans said they’d abbreviate the opening day of their national convention.

As of 5 p.m. ET, the eye of the Category 3 storm was about 215 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said.

Hurricane-force winds could hit Louisiana’s southern coast by sunrise Monday, and the storm’s center could hit southwest of New Orleans by early Monday afternoon, CNN meteorologists said.

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Ugh.

Dear All,

Today, on this third anniversary of Katrina, there was so much i wanted to share about the progress we’ve made thanks to our dear friends, the lessons we’ve learned along the way, and some really exciting plans for continued Kingdom building and renewal here in New Orleans. Instead, we’ve spent the day packing up the office and church, making sure our parishioners have made plans, and checking on the more vulnerable members of our Broadmoor community.

For the most part, folks are doing quite well. We’re miles ahead of where we were in terms of preparation for Katrina. Even the State appears to have its act together. No major news from our city, however, since “Our Mayor” lives in the Dallas area. All things considered, we’re looking really good at this point in the ballgame.

While an official evacuation has yet to be called, the highways going out of town are stacked up with crawling traffic. Our Annunciation/Broadmoor caravan intends to leave for Tennessee on Sunday morning. Stacy and the kids will bug out for Baton Rouge at some point on Saturday.

The Annunciation campus will close officially at 5p today, Friday, and re-open after the storm passes. We have not only Gustav to watch . . . but Hannah as well.
I’m signing off for now…and will begin blogging at http://annunciationbroadmoor.blogspot.com.

Prayers and Blessings from the Big Uneasy,

–(The Rev.) Jerry and Stacy Kramer serve at Church of the Annunciation, New Orleans, LA

National Guard troops stand ready, batteries and water bottles sold briskly, and one small-town mayor spent a sleepless night worrying. The New Orleans area watched as a storm marched across the Caribbean on the eve of Hurricane Katrina’s third anniversary.

With forecasters warning that Gustav could strengthen and slam into the Gulf Coast as a major hurricane, a New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina’s devastating hit drew up evacuation plans.

“I’m panicking,” said Evelyn Fuselier of Chalmette, whose home was submerged in 14 feet of floodwater when Katrina hit. Fuselier said she’s been back in her home one year this month, and called watching Gustav swirl toward the Gulf of Mexico indescribable. “I keep thinking, ‘Did the Corps fix the levees?,”Is my house going to flood again?’ … ‘Am I going to have to go through all this again?'”

Taking no chances, city officials began preliminary planning to evacuate and lock down the city in hopes of avoiding the catastrophe that followed the 2005 storm. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention in Denver to return home for the preparations. Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency to lay the groundwork for federal assistance, and put 3,000 National Guard troops on standby.

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Gustav swirled toward Cuba on Wednesday after triggering flooding and landslides that killed at least 22 people in the Caribbean. Its track pointed toward the U.S. Gulf coast, including Louisiana where Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc three years ago.

Oil prices jumped above US$119 a barrel as workers began to evacuate from the offshore rigs responsible for a quarter of U.S. crude production and much of America’s natural gas.

“We know it’s going to head into the Gulf. After that, we’re not sure where it’s heading,” said Rebecca Waddington, a meteorologist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. “For that reason, everyone in Gulf needs to be monitoring the storm. At that point, we’re expecting it to be a Category 3 hurricane.”

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Ugh.