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Hurricane Rita and Texas

Thanks to those who have inquired about the situation here in Austin in relation to the impending hurricane.  The way things look this morning, it appears that Austin and Dallas will perhaps get some rain and wind on Saturday, but nothing out of the ordinary–both cites will be too far from the center of the storm.  Houston is unlikely, it seems, to get the full force of the hurricane, though they will get far more serious rain and wind, with risks of flooding in some of the lower lying parts of that sprawling city.  (There may be more risk right now to Houstonians who are part of the horribly disorganized evacuation of parts of the city.)  The hurricane appears set to hit in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area of far eastern Texas, near the Louisiana border.  We may hope that it will decline in force to a Category 3 hurricane before it makes landfall–I gather from this morning’s reports that there is some chance of that, which will make an enormous difference for the communities likely to be at the center of the storm.  Meanwhile, the main effect of the impending hurricane in Austin is an influx of evacuees from Houston who are looking for a safe place to be until the storm passes.  Right now, it looks like Austin will be such a place.

I’ve opened comments for readers in the affected areas to post pertinent information.

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2 responses to “Hurricane Rita and Texas”

  1. Anybody have any information on when and how people will be allowed to return to the Houston area? We are in San Antonio, and don't want to spend days in an I-10 traffic jam. The TXDOT site has no info at all, and I can't find anything posted anywhere.

  2. We left Houston on Friday morning for Austin (3hours drive time) and came back on Saturday afternoon, leaving Austin at 11am (4.5 hours) – resulting in a 36 hour evacuation which in the end was not necessary. Due to my husband's pig headedness and snap judgement, we managed to avoid gridlock on 290 in both directions. Miraculously, we even found a room for ourselves and our cat at the Marriott on Friday morning whereas on Thursday we had been told that not a single hotel room was available anywhere in Texas. They advised us to book rooms in New Mexico, Oklahoma or Colorado!

    The Houston Chronicle has the mayor's suggested plan of return with graphics of the area maps and days. But the question is if anyone is going to follow it. Whatever you do, do not return on Sunday. I am afraid that it will be a repeat of Thursday's nightmare in reverse. Except this time, there are army trucks on the roadside with gasoline. And the state troopers are out in force keeping order.

    Most neighborhoods in Houston are dry and have power. But most gas stations may be out of gas. Take a few minutes on the way to stop and top off your tank at least once, closer to the city you are leaving. As you approach Houston, gas may be hard to come by.

    If we would not have got out of Austin this morning, before most other people had made up their minds, we probably would have
    waited until Monday or Tuesday to return.

    Perhaps it will be a lesson for all of us and our civic authorities that "one car – one family" style of evacuation in a time of danger is not the most efficient way to get out of harm's way.

    Best of luck to all evacuees, wherever you may be.

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