Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

[MotherOfGizmo]

Here we go again.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9389157/

Meteorologist Chris Landsea of the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Rita could strengthen to a Category 5 with wind over 155 mph as it moves over the warm waters of the gulf, or it could ease to a Category 3, with wind of less than 130 mph.

[Peytonn]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

and isn't Galveston in much the same boat as New Orleans?

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

I think the news said they had a 15 foot protection from storm surge, but still. Both Galveston and N.O. are under mandatory evacuations at this time. Houston is asking folks to evacuate low lying areas only at this time.

[Peytonn]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

I mean it's below sea level with all the levees or sea walls or something.. isnt' it?... I should go check... I just remember something about a bad hurricane many years ago killing people here... (it was on the list i printed when katrina came... and we talked about it for a bit)

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

Gee, I don't have a clue. Gosh I hope we don't have a repeat of Katrina...I don't think that we can handle it!

[Miss Phode]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

I'm thinking moving to Florida was a bad idea.

[Barbde]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

New Orleans has Lake Pontchartrain that Galveston doesn't have. That is a big difference as far as the massive flooding goes. New Orleans wasn't flooded so bad til the levys broke and the lake let loose. Either way, it's going to be ugly! I feel so bad for those people.

[Barbde]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

Here is what I found out
Galveston, situated on an island 8 feet above sea level, was the site of one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history: an unnamed hurricane in 1900 that killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people and practically wiped the city off the map.

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

Yea, I saw that about the hurricane of 1900--horrible! At least they are above sea level a little. I read that in that storm the water came in at 20 feet though and I also read that they only have a 15 foot protection if I'm remembering all that correctly.

Rita is a 5 now with sustained winds of 175 and gusts up to 215 miles an hour! YIKES! Right now they are saying it is the third strongest storm ever recorded! Katrina was 5th! Gosh I hope it weakens at least a little before landfall, this is very very scary.

[Miss Phode]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

Rita is officially the third strongest hurricane on the books.

[mere150]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

The shelters in Texas are now making room for new evacuees. Tyler shelters were closing for the most part until now. I hope they don't have to re-open closed shelters. My grandmother and a friends parents are both playing host to evacuees, hotels are booked up again.

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

What a nightmare.

[texwife&mom]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

Galveston is a 25 mile long narrow sandbar off the coast of Houston. It has a sea wall that covers about 7 miles. The surge could literally come up the south side and down on the north side of the "island." All of the hotels in the DFW area are full, traffic on 45 is a parking lot and people have been told the closest hotels with room are Oklahoma city. The strom is predicted to still be a cat 1 when it hits the Dallas area 1 day after landfall. Unbelievable.

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

That's what amazes me though, there are people on that "sandbar" that are planning to ride out the storm.

[Peytonn]

Re: Evacuations under way as Rita muscles up

oh yeah.. that lake.... forgot about that.. (geography isn't my strong point)

I saw a thing on tv last night though about the one in GAlveston that his in 1900 or whenever... it was the flooding from the storm surge......but NO had to deal with the storm surge... THEN the lake... (which I'm sure was above it's normal level because of the storm)


this time I heard they're allowing people to take their pets.. in cages....

did they NOT let you take pets when NO was evacuated? I'd had to hide mine... coz if I left.. they'd have to go too