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Benson: 297 Woodlands homes with major damage
By T.L. HAMILTON
Two homes in the community were completely destroyed by Hurricane Ike and 297 sustained major damage, said Chief Alan Benson of The Woodlands Fire Department. "We expect that number to increase by 100 or 150 more homes as we get more reports," he said.
As a reaction to the extensive damage caused by the storm, board members of the Woodlands Community Association, The Woodlands Association and the Woodlands Commercial Owners Association decided to grant general extensions to residents seeking permits to repair their homes.
The associations waived covenants requiring residents to report flooding within three days and to finish all repairs within 120 days of damage.
The newly constructed Fire Station No. 6 and Emergency Training Center both received flood damage, which Benson said he believes was caused by a civil engineering oversight.
This is unacceptable," Benson said. "I plan to investigate this and meet with the engineer and architect as soon as possible."
Central Fire Station, which has flooded in the past, flooded again because of Hurricane Ike. As of Friday, it was unknown how much the damage would cost. No firefighters were injured as a result of the hurricane, Benson said.
John Powers, assistant general manager for community services, said residents should separate trash and debris from the hurricane into four separate piles: bagged vegetative debris; limbs and sawed trees; sheetrock, fencing and carpet; and light appliances or other destroyed household items that will not fit in trash cans.
All trash and debris should be placed on front lawns no further than 10 feet from the street, and not in the street, ditches or storm drains.
Residents are also advised to keep cars out of the street to allow county dump trucks to access the piles of debris, Powers said.
Food waste and other regular trash should be double-bagged and put in Waste Management trash cans. The trash company is currently picking up trash throughout the community and is expected to be on its regular schedule by Monday.
About 70 parks in the community had minor damage from the storm, 25 had heavy tree damage and 15 are closed due to extensive damage, said Chris Nunes, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.
Nunes said that about 50 percent of the pathways in the community have been cleared.
Don Norrell, general manager of the community associations, said that most of the work is covered under existing contracts with Waste Management and the Woodlands Community Services Corporation, so there may not be added costs for the storm clean up.
As a reaction to the extensive damage caused by the storm, board members of the Woodlands Community Association, The Woodlands Association and the Woodlands Commercial Owners Association decided to grant general extensions to residents seeking permits to repair their homes.
The associations waived covenants requiring residents to report flooding within three days and to finish all repairs within 120 days of damage.
The newly constructed Fire Station No. 6 and Emergency Training Center both received flood damage, which Benson said he believes was caused by a civil engineering oversight.
This is unacceptable," Benson said. "I plan to investigate this and meet with the engineer and architect as soon as possible."
Central Fire Station, which has flooded in the past, flooded again because of Hurricane Ike. As of Friday, it was unknown how much the damage would cost. No firefighters were injured as a result of the hurricane, Benson said.
John Powers, assistant general manager for community services, said residents should separate trash and debris from the hurricane into four separate piles: bagged vegetative debris; limbs and sawed trees; sheetrock, fencing and carpet; and light appliances or other destroyed household items that will not fit in trash cans.
All trash and debris should be placed on front lawns no further than 10 feet from the street, and not in the street, ditches or storm drains.
Residents are also advised to keep cars out of the street to allow county dump trucks to access the piles of debris, Powers said.
Food waste and other regular trash should be double-bagged and put in Waste Management trash cans. The trash company is currently picking up trash throughout the community and is expected to be on its regular schedule by Monday.
About 70 parks in the community had minor damage from the storm, 25 had heavy tree damage and 15 are closed due to extensive damage, said Chris Nunes, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.
Nunes said that about 50 percent of the pathways in the community have been cleared.
Don Norrell, general manager of the community associations, said that most of the work is covered under existing contracts with Waste Management and the Woodlands Community Services Corporation, so there may not be added costs for the storm clean up.
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