[R. S. Gwynn]

Beaumont is fine, thanks, but the water was turned off early this a.m. because of a pump failure.

Virtually all of the national media reports about Beaumont have been wrong. Port Arthur took terrible flooding, but Beaumont's updated drainage system (post-Rita, post-Ike) worked. Yes, the streets were flooded, and there were lots of flooded cars and some house flooding, especially in outlying communities that were under mandatory evacuation orders. It's bad enough without exaggerated reports making it sound worse. Most folks didn't lose utilities or other services. Wind is a much worse problem in hurricanes, and we didn't get any.

There is lots of bad information floating around here, especially on Facebook--dams and levees bursting, chemical plants blowing up, etc. The Port Arthur Civic Center, which was a shelter for about 200, did get a foot or so of water. Everyone sat in the stands until they could be moved elsewhere. I just heard someone say to turn off water heaters because they could boil over--ever hear of thermostats, folks? Do you turn off your water heater when you go on vacation?

If you want real problems, look at Houston. We're fine, though our personal hygiene may suffer for a few days. Please check my Facebook page for other information.