Rob C , thank's for your well wishes. I'm from the Houston, Texas area; my family still lives in a suburb north of the city, and I live about an hour away. Even where I live we got strong winds and fallen trees and a good deal of rain. My folks (and the area they live in) back home are without power for anywhere from a few days to a month or so (and we were very, very lucky too!). At the moment, I have family and friends bunked up in my apartment while conditions improve and know a lot of people who have it much worse than we.
The city of Galveston was especially hard hit. It's the only time I've ever heard government officials warn people to evacuate "or face certain death". I spent some time before the storm hit photographing evacuated persons being brought by plane to the city I live in for my local university newspaper. It just broke my heart.
My family was lucky. The community they live in took some damage but was far enough north that nothing horribly drastic happened. We lost power and a couple of trees, that's it.
I'd encourage people, whether in Texas, or the USA or anywhere in the world to think about donating some time or money to efforts like the Red Cross. You may never need, it but others will.
