Ike made landfall over Galveston Island as a Category 2 Hurricane at 2:10 a.m. on Saturday, September 13, 2008. The storm devastated the regions, killing dozens and causing billions in damage. The Houston-area locals that lived through shared what they remember most about Ike.
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“I remember not being able to sleep that night in our old house in South Houston, sounded like a Freight Train right outside the boarded up windows. Heard a loud crack & thud which turned out to be our big Pecan tree closest to the house it broke in half but fell straight down instead of over.The wind snapped it in half like a twig. Luckily only a few shingles were torn off our roof and no water inside. The worst part was our power and landlines were out for almost a week.” - Amanda
“I remember it well. Sweltering heat, no power, no ice for weeks. But we were safe. House was ok so thats all that matters compared to others who lost so much. You don’t forget these storms.” - Carol
“I remember driving down 45 to Galveston afterwards.There were boats on 45!! And the boulders on the sea wall were now across the street.” - Rebecca
“Flooded my house. But only enough to ruin the floors and carpet and tore up the roof. Harvey was a much bigger nightmare. We flooded in our new home and lost everything downstairs/” - Cindy
“My house was still intact, but I lost power for a week. And even with the power back, my school still had no power, so I got an extra week off of school. I was 11 years old back then.” - Enrique
“The eye went right over my house, I’ll never forget it. I was in my kitchen where we had a sliding glass door and it was bowing in and out. That was intense and then I went upstairs and could feel the house swaying.” - Denille
“Carpooling with friends to work at 5am(We worked for AT&T and were considered essential workers) And we were one of the few cars driving south on 45 in Spring to our office as the northbound freeway was literally wall-to-wall headlights people trying to get out and then later when they finally let us leave everything looks deserted and were the only few going northbound on the freeway…Very eerie feeling.” - Barbie
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“We had been to Bolivar Peninsula 1 week before the hurricane. We were in shock at the devastation when we were finally able to take a drive out there.” - Stella
“I lost power for 22 days!” - Kathryn
“I lived in SmithPoint before Ike.. after ike I found 2 bodies left never came back.” - Jessica
“Made landfall when I was still cohabitating (although separated) in the same house as my ex husband pre divorce. My dog and I rode it out alone but the next two weeks were pretty rough...no electricity...rationed gas...no hot water...large downed trees blocking the neighborhood entrances to come and go for several days and when you could finally leave nothing was open for at least 7 days. Gas stations were out of gas for a long time. I stayed upstairs and he stayed downstairs, intense! I’ve been through many bad ones but Ike will always stand out for that reason. I made it through it and so many people had it much worse than I did.” - Kim
“Lost my uncle.” - Meredith
“I had a 3 month old with no power and no water. Finding water for bottles was fun. He was so good though. Slept through the whole thing.” - D’Anne
“I lived by ingrando Park and slept in the bed with my 2 babies saying my prayers until I fell asleep while my house shook from the wind. Only time I’ve ever left after a hurricane.” - Margarita
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“I remember sleeping through my 1st hurricane being an adult. 1 week of no lights. Working at a nursing home was a hot mess. We had a curfew to be home.” - Blanca
“2 weeks no power with a almost 2 year old. We live in spring😱Neighborhood cookouts every night, Spending hours each day in the POD lines for ice and water, Limited gas at gas stations, Limited food in the stores.” - Nicole
“40 weeks pregnant with no electricity or water. Toddler at home. Husband was on hurricane team at work.” - Tammy
“I left and went of all the places, the Woodlands. Of course Ike ran straight there. My house was a little damaged, but my moms neighborhood in the Woodlands was worse.” - Nancy
“Made landfall on my birthday and I evacuated to Waco. Think the only damage was our fence was blown down.” - Phyllis
“I was 8 months pregnant at the time. I could hear what I think was a tornado close by my house. The rain was coming through my back door, the house swayed some.” - Heather
“Our beach cabin was destroyed in Crystal Beach.” - Pat
“Second year of teaching and lost everything at school and my house flooded.” - Donna
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We do you remember most about Ike? Share your stories in the comments below.