"Ike Worse than Alicia," Says Craftsman President

"We got through fine, however, daylight is now shedding light on what we were hearing through the night: trees twisted off at the trunks and fences down …" reported Craftsman Fabricated Glass president and Houston resident Bob Lawrence of his hometown, which saw the fury of Hurricane Ike on Friday evening. "It's quite a mess. Electricity is off pretty much all over Houston. No water pressure … Right now I have somewhat of a limited view, but this looks far worse than Hurricane Alicia in '83."

Lawrence reported this weekend that his family is fine and that they were planning to try to make it to their plant yesterday to take care of the first wave of glass shop customers.

"The plan was, for us, to try getting to the plant at 7 a.m. Sunday morning so we can take care of the first wave of our glass shop customers that will need glass for emergency replacements. Based on my first impressions, this may be difficult to accomplish … but we are going to give it a go."

He also cautioned that electricity and water are at a premium and urged individuals outside of the Houston area to be mindful that those there probably have very limited cell phone capacity and will want to conserve their cell power.

"Offer prayers for all those who were more devastated than us," said Lawrence. "I'm certain they will be more than welcome."

Stay tuned to USGNN.com™ for updates as they are available.

Need more info and analysis about the issues?
CLICK HERE to subscribe to USGlass magazine.