Blogs of War

Rita Update

Via HPD on the scanner there are power outages south of Bay Area Blvd. in Clear Lake. Winds are definitely picking up here in Midtown but nothing too scary yet. I think that may change for the worse in a couple of hours.

HPD is patrolling the area pretty heavily. There are still some shady characters on the streets though. I’m hearing quite a few looting calls on the scanner. I’ve heard that the Cadillac Bar and a Jack in the Box near Washington Ave. have had their doors kicked in.

Looting has become my primary concern now that the eye is east of us.

Looters Strike in Advance of Rita – Armed Citizens Patrol Midtown

Well I just found out why the media was in my parking garage. Looters struck last night and trashed 12 cars. We usually have very tight security but the gates were left open by management due to fears of power outages. I need to go check my car now.

Update:
My car is fine but the mood in the area is tense. I ran across two neighbors carrying hunting rifles (or a rifle and a shotgun to be exact) who were actively searching for a guy they suspected of breaking into more cars. They agreed to let me photograph them from the neck down. Hopefully, HPD will send one or more officers to our neighborhood. I think there is risk of additional looting or worse.

Update II:
Quite a few HPD cars in the area now. It’s going to be an interesting night.

Update III:
I’m hearing more looter calls on the HPD scanner frequencies. This doesn’t seem to approach the level that we saw in New Orleans but I’m worried about this evening.

Update IV 6:33pm CST:
Via the police scanner: Looting in progress at South Gessner and Belfort – A Wal-Mart Store.

Update V 6:55pm CST:
The property management finally closed the security gates. I think we can all rest a little easier. The security here is solid as long as it’s in place. I was also told that HPD is working the issue in a pretty creative way but I won’t discuss the specifics. We should be safe here tonight as long as we don’t venture past the gates. There’s some pretty sketchy characters wondering around out there right now though.

Update VI 7:40pm CST:
Winds are picking up and theres light rain now. Some of the gusts are quite strong. I walked over to the convenience store in the building and chatted with some of my neighbors for a while. HPD pulled up and parked on the street in front of the store. That provided some relief. We’re all worried about looters and the store owner plans to spend the night there to ward them off. If we lose power or if the weather isn’t too bad then we’re worried that they’ll have a field day. HPD is doing a pretty good job with patrols. I just worry about them being pulled out for emergencies. I’m tired but I expect I’ll spend a lot of time watching the retail spots on our ground floor.

Update VII 7:55pm CST:
Yeah I’m kicking myself for selling my SA-85M a few months ago. With an SA-85M on your back there’s no such thing as a looter problem.

Update VIII 8:33pm CST:
I was watching the convenience store in our building and there were lots of shady characters scoping it out. I went in to talk to the owner and we both agreed that it was time for him to lock up and leave. He was in a very dangerous position and there are no legitimate customers on the streets anyway. The two of us will be watching the retail section from the safety of our balconies. Unfortunately I went into this storm thinking that Houston would avoid much looting (we have in the past) but I’m pretty pessimistic about what will happen later tonight.