Hurricane Rita is racing towards southeast Texas in all her fury — and is now a Category 5 storm, CNN reports:
Residents in southeast Texas and coastal Louisiana scurried to get out of the way of Hurricane Rita, a Category 5 hurricane expected to hit the Lone Star State this weekend.
The National Hurricane Center said at 4 p.m. that the storm has intensified and now packs maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (265 kph).
Around Houston, the fourth most populous city in the United States, interstates and highways are clogged with traffic as residents rush to leave.
Houston Mayor Bill White urged the residents in areas at risk for storm surge and those living in mobile homes to “begin making their evacuation plans.”
White also asked residents to help move citizens who cannot evacuate themselves.
Rita’s center was about 755 miles (1,215 kilometers) east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the storm was moving west at 13 mph (21 kph), according to the most recent full advisory from the hurricane center.
The warm Gulf waters were fueling the storm, which is about 300 miles wide.
About 50 miles from Houston, Galveston Island was under a state of emergency.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas ordered mandatory evacuations of nursing homes, assisted-living centers and similar facilities across Galveston County starting Wednesday morning.
At this writing, evacuations in Texas were accelerated with warnings being taken very seriously this time — because Rita could be WORSE THAN KATRINA:
“We hope and pray that Hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm, but we’ve got to be ready for the worst,” said U.S President George W. Bush, who was heavily criticized for an ill-prepared federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Rita’s winds increased to 165 mph (265 kph) as it moved over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico after lashing the Florida Keys on Tuesday. The storm did little damage to the vulnerable Florida islands, but had intensified to a Category 4 storm by morning.
The latest upgrade made Rita stronger than Hurricane Katrina was when it hit land as a Category 4 storm with 145-mph (233-kph) winds. At its peak over water, Katrina was a Category 5 storm with 175-mph (281-kph) winds. The storm devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama last month and killed at least 1,037 people.
Some of the story and reaction can be grasped by visiting weblogs located in the area that’s likely to get the storm’s main impact.
These are EXCERPTS so read each post in full:
—Smoke On The Water in Galveston writes from…the water:
Working steadily since my 04:00 wake up, I’ve reduced the windage topsides to a bare minimum. Gone are the sails, the flagstaff, and the many gasket-coiled lines which festooned the taffrail. All safely stowed in various havens aboard ship. The bulky sails, to find a shelter ashore with a trusted neighbor and businessman.
Such is the harshness of the extra salty Gulf of Mexico, that I had to employ the rigger’s tool of last resort to free the galvanized wire which serves as the main’sl halyard. Bolt & wire cutters are not a luxury on a sailboat, but a necessity. When dismasted at sea, one’s speed and deftness of blade with the jaws of those cutters can make the difference between life and a wet, miserable death. Today’s use was less urgent perhaps, but just as vital to the odds of the New Dawn having a chance against the storm.
Good news on the radio as I’m typing this…. an announcement that the projected landfall for Rita has been moved twenty-five miles south and west, further down the coast from the mouth of Galveston Bay. Dear Lord, please…another twenty-five miles, and the New Dawn may well bear the winds and ride the surge; even if barely…….and for me, barely will be blessely, enough….
After lunch, I’ll be systematically loading the car to it’s maximum capacity. Papers, clothes, minimal survival cookware. My laptop. Guns and ammunition. All of it. And of course, my two liveaboard cats.
—Brazosport News:”Plywood — Sold Out. Still some flashlights & batteries.”
—Right Mom (near Houston):
Just a quick note to friends and family:
We are taking this VERY seriously.
We are preparted (have provisions) and are further preparing our humble abode.
We are still not certian where we will ride this out: Northwest Houston or with my parents on Lake Livingston. Both places have their pros and cons. I will know more in 24 hrs.
My best friend and her son and coming to stay with us, wherever we are. Her husband has duties with the Coast Guard. (God bless the all!)
Everyone is rather nevous, as you can well imagine.
My brother will be on duty in the Ship Channel (he is a firefighter there). He is VERY nervous in that the leadership of his position want to ride it out in the fire boat. I’m not really sure how intelligent that is.
Those outside Houston, please keep up in your prayers and thoughts.
–Houston’s Lou Minatti:
As I mentioned the other day, Katrina has given Houstonians The Fear. If it wasn’t for Katrina, many people would be contemplating riding this out with no preparation. We are on the far west side of town, so I am not worried about storm surge. But I am worried about flooding from the creek in back of our house, and I am also worried about high wind. If Rita does become a Category 4 storm and she keeps her present track, we could still see 110-120 mile per hour winds here.
So… emergency shopping is done. The cars are gassed up. Tonight after work I’ll remove any potential missiles from my yard. Lawn chairs, flower pots, wind chimes, the BBQ pit. I’ll do a backup of our computers. Like most of us I have thousands of family photos. I’ll burn those to a few CD’s and put them in our lock box. I have the insurance papers ready.
I feel like I am trapped in a car stalled on a railroad track, and in the distance I can hear the sound of an approaching freight train.
—Generation Why mixes concern with some humor:
It’s weird because I am not seeing any middle-of-the-roaders today. People are either completely serious about evacuating or completely laughing at those taking it so serious. Some have said there’s no way the storm will reach certain areas north of Houston… and I’m reminded that Katrina was still a Hurricane over 100 miles inland.
Frankly, I’m leaving town because I sweat… alot. And the chances are pretty high that we’ll lose power (because we lose power when someone burps too loud – thanks Reliant Energy) and that means no A/C.
And I can afford a nice hotel room because… well, I’m a Republican.
You heard right. I’m going to be live blogging the wind, the rain and the unavoidable sense of panic from my homebase in The Woodlands, Texas .
At the moment, everyone is in “wait and see” mode. Which here means “Wait (too long) and (you won’t) see (any necessary supplies.”
If your in the Houston area and you’re trying to find the following:
Gas
Bottled Water
D Batteries
PlywoodThen you’re going to have to drive away from town or get up early in the morning. Speaking of early in the morning, the sooner you start at daylight, the easier it is going to be to get somewhere. One overturned 40′ sailboat can block a highway.
UPDATES: —Michelle Malkin has a constantly-being-updated roundup HERE.
–This Blog Is Full Of Crap has some superb news and area blog links HERE (no permalink on this section)
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.