From Darren Beltz in Houston ...

Darren and Shannon evacuated to my brother's house in Houston. My parents are there, too. Here's a great update about lots of our friends from Darren ...

Hey Stephanie,

Your brother told me about you posting info on your blog. Thanks!

Shannon & I are in Houston, TX, and our family all made it out safely.

My Dad & Julie were in St. Petersburg, FL visiting my Uncle when the hurricane started heading to NO so they just stayed there. My mom, Kevin & Rose, and all 5 of their kids went to Longview, TX just west of Shreveport and they have a hotel until next week. Leta went to stay with her dad in Pensacola, FL. Barney Oufnac, Sr. & Jr. went to White Castle, LA, and then moved on to Baton Rouge I think.

Shannon's mom & dad drove to North Carolina and they are staying with Shannon's uncle. They left late on Sunday though and since the traffic to the east was moving slower than the storm, they had to stay in a shelter in Alabama to ride out the storm first. Unfortunately, one of Shannon's grandmothers had to stay in New Orleans at a nursing home in Kenner near Chateau Estates. Luckily, we have gotten word from the home that there was no flooding there and very little wind damage. They lost the A/C, but a generator is providing electricity for lights & medical equipment. Shannon's other grandmother and all her aunts & uncles made it out of town too, which is a good thing (see below).

One of Shannon's uncles lives/lived in Eden Isles subdivision in Slidell, LA on Moonraker Road overlooking an inlet of Lake Pontchartrain. Shannon's friends Jennifer Wandell & Brent Hachfeld also live in this general area and we haven't heard from them. If you look at a map of Slidell, LA, reports say that the lake was pushed all the way up to Fremaux Avenue (aka Hwy 190 & Shortcut Hwy). That's almost 5 MILES INLAND!! A man called into WWL radio station saying that he lives near Fremaux and he had thousands of dead fish in his front yard when he went to check his home for damage.

One of Shannon's aunts lives off of Lake Villa Drive about 4 houses from the canal in Metairie next to East Jefferson General Hospital. My brother's fiance's sister lives in a house one block away. They have 4-5 feet of water in their homes.

Brad & Jessica Humphreys are safe in Houston, TX. He said they are in a hotel room playing cards to keep them from watching too much news. They aren't sure about the status of their house.

Patrick Alderman's parents got out and went to Baton Rouge to stay with him and his wife, or his sister's family, but since his power is still out from the storm, they are all at her house. He has gotten reports that the area around Grace King High School was spared for the most part with very little water (2-3 inches) in some homes.

Jairo & Kathryn Santanilla are in Baton Rouge, LA with Kathryn's parents. They lost power the day of the storm, but it was restored shortly after. Yesterday Jairo reported to the LSU Assembly Center where they have set up a temporary hospital primarily dealing with triage (like M.A.S.H.) of people being brought in from New Orleans. They are short handed, so if you know anyone in the medical field in that area, they could probably use your help. This morning Jairo finished a 30 hour shift where he was acting as Medical Director for the center. They saw about 400 patients come through during that shift. Apache helicopters are landing every few minutes on the track field next door in addition to the school buses being driven in. He heard some amazing stories similar to those we are hearing on the news in person, face to face.

Our friend Cecily Bennett made it safely out of New Orleans, as well as our friends Dave & Nicole Steudlein, Sara & Mike Camneter, Mark & Staci Pelto, and Patrick Cochran.

Shannon's friends, Carrie & Rick Gardache, are in Atlanta, GA at an uncle's house, but Rick's parents rode out the storm in Chalmette, LA. They have not heard from them! They have posted to missing sites such as WDSU.com, but so far they have heard nothing.

I haven't heard anything from Luke Davis, so if anyone knows anything about his whereabouts, please pass it on.

Thank God we are all safe, even if we are homeless for a while!

-Darren