Posted on 09/24/2005 3:43:12 PM PDT by anymouse
It was the unexpected storm surge. Car after car, traffic backed up as much as 100 miles.
Thousands of vehicles carrying people trying to evacuate before Hurricane Rita came calling were stuck in gridlock. Some ran out of gas.
While Galveston County officials maintain that they are pleased with how the evacuation of the county went, all admit that something in the system broke down once those evacuating got north into Houston.
What was supposed to be a six-hour trip from Galveston to evacuation shelters in Huntsville took more than 10 for many.
Horror stories abound from those trying to get out of the storm’s path. Television images of expressways turned into parking lots reinforced those stories.
“That is definitely something that will be addressed when we assess this situation,” said John Simsen, a spokesman for the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management. “This is an unprecedented action, and we know that on our end things went as we had planned, but something went wrong (further up the route).”
While county officials brag on what they estimated to be an 80 percent evacuation rate countywide — Galveston Island reported that 90 percent of its population cleared out — Simsen knows that the images of gridlock will hurt future efforts.
“These situations, for whatever reasons … we are going to have a more difficult time from a public information standpoint,” said Simsen. “We have to take advantage of the fact folks have taken us seriously.”
It is unclear who under the state’s mandatory evacuation traffic plan was responsible for ensuring that fuel would be available along the evacuation routes. Local emergency management officials said that the plan may have taken for granted that gas stations would remain open and have enough fuel to fill the need.
In an often-heated phone call between state and local officials, the demands from local officials in Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties, among others, were that the state take action.
Gov. Rick Perry’s office Thursday night promised that gasoline was indeed on the way. A press release said tankers with fuel would arrive by 9 p.m.
But it was not until early Friday morning when the first trucks arrived along Interstate 10. Thousands stuck on Interstate 45 were still waiting at 7 a.m.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Conroe police were doing their part along I-45. Law enforcement officials used a fuel truck that would normally have been reserved for patrol cars to give five to 10 gallons of gas to those who had less than half a tank.
The traffic snarls also proved to be deadly. Fort Bend County Sheriff’s officials confirmed that three people died while in the massive traffic jam.
Spokesman Terri Ann Carlson said two people died of carbon monoxide poisoning, while an elderly woman died as a result of heat stroke.
The gridlock was a big reason Texas City resident Jack Cross remained behind, although he said he might leave just hours before Rita was expected to make landfall.
“I am not bent on staying here, although I am not too worried,” Cross said. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to be a hero.
“But I would rather stay here than go through that mess. People with children, their pets, running out of gas, no bathrooms, 100-degree heat where you would have to cut your motor off and get out on hot concrete.
“I will wait even until (today). If it clears I’ll go. If not I’ll stay here.”
Kemah resident Claire Durkee Worthington said she tried to get out of town, but couldn’t.
“I actually spent many hours attempting to evacuate to Otting,” she said.
Worthington was planning to meet some friends. She left about 3 p.m. Wednesday.
“I only got to the Interstate 10 (at the) Campbell Road exit at about 4 a.m. (Thursday),” she said.
“Exhausted I pulled off the road and slept in my truck until I was fit to drive again. I came home at about 11:30 am.”
Worthington also feared that the lack of open gasoline stations would mean she would run out of fuel.
“When I couldn’t find any gas my fear of being stranded and the new storm coordinates tracking somewhat to the east made my decision for me,” she said.
Emergency planners, while maintaining that not all about the news of the evacuation was negative, promised the plan would be tweaked based on the lessons learned.
“These are issues that will be discussed after all of this is over, you can rest assured,” said Simsen.
Kemah resident Claire Durkee Worthington said she tried to get out of town, but couldn’t.
“I actually spent many hours attempting to evacuate to Otting,” she said.
Worthington was planning to meet some friends. She left about 3 p.m. Wednesday.
“I only got to the Interstate 10 (at the) Campbell Road exit at about 4 a.m. (Thursday),” she said.
“Exhausted I pulled off the road and slept in my truck until I was fit to drive again. I came home at about 11:30 am.”
Worthington also feared that the lack of open gasoline stations would mean she would run out of fuel.
“When I couldn’t find any gas my fear of being stranded and the new storm coordinates tracking somewhat to the east made my decision for me,” she said.
Please post something on FR when you get back on-line so we know that you are all right.
I think the three major lessons are that gasoline supplies need to be better monitored/coordinated. The Houston area needs to leave in shifts, much the way Galveston County did and that the more resourceful might wait longer to see where the hurricane is landing before deciding whether to leave. Obviously, a lot of people in the Freeport/Victoria/Corpus areas left for nothing.
One more suggestion for the "next time". Pack a gasoline container and fill that up before you evac. One or two more gallons might make the difference between being stranded on the road or finding a place to refuel.
“That is definitely something that will be addressed when we assess this situation,” said John Simsen, a spokesman for the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management.
I think its obvious that Tow Trucks and Fuel Tankers need to be pre-positioned every 5 miles along evac routes AHEAD of time, and that CounterFlow has to be opened earlier.
People have to be prepared to push cars off the road right away instead of letting traffic build up behind.
With tankers parked at protected locations (top of off-ramps etc) and armed police there, and army humvees with lots of gas cans to run up and down the medians/edges to refuel any that run out this kind of gridlock can be avoided. There would have to be a no-topping off rule. If you got a quarter tank, keep going to next fueler, don't stop.
2.5 million Texan's served their nation well by participating in what some must feel was an unnecessary drill, but one which saved many many lives, and will save many more in the future.
You couldn't BUY this kind of experience for any amount of money. The Twin-'Canes will make us better prepared for future terrorist attacks and other disasters. This month will be studied for the next hundred years.
Texas did it right. Not perfect. But way better than Louisiana. Every little Mayor and Sheriff stepped up to the plate. And Texans know how to take a clue. Hats off to Texas.
And as Tom Deley said at the interview, the "farm to market" roads were virtually unused. These "back country roads" and State and Federal highways can carry a huge load, because even stalled traffic can get the hell off the road, but its hard to get out of the center lanes of a freeway.
Every hotel has a sign in every room about the evac route.
Why not do the same for every neighborhood, with conputerized projections of load updated every year, and flyers sent to every household to put in their glovebox in every car. On line places to down load yours, just key in your address and print it off.
Also, refuel all your cars when a tropical storm or hurricane enters the gulf. Even if you pack your family into one car, in an emmergency when gas stations are closed, you can siphon gasoline from a car you're leaving behind to top off your tank and to fill up some auxiliary fuel cans before evacuating.
No they didn't. There are lag times in evacuating. At the time lots of people left, the storm was projected to hit somewhere between Corpus Christi and Galveston. Even on Thursday moringing it looked like Corpus might get the storm.
According to two of my children who made the trip up here from Houston, utilizing Farm to Market roads pre identified for such a purpose some months ago, the thing MOST needed for any such future event would be National Guard MPs pre positioned at intersections along evacuation routes to direct traffic. MUCH time wasted waiting for red lights to change where little to no cross traffic exsisted or waiting for hundreds of cars, each in turn, to stop at stop signs at intersections with little to no cross traffic.
4 million people cannot all fit out the door at the same time. How stupid do you have to be to think they can? How despicable do you have to be to advocate there is someone to blame for not making it happen?
Traffic is the result of the cars around you, and what your own car becomes when it leaves your driveway. Must everything that happens in this country be painted as a failure & embarrasment?
"Must everything that happens in this country be painted as a failure & embarrasment?"
Circa 1955:
{wavering tone on radio} "This is the Emergengency Broadcast Alert: Please tune to your local Konnelrad (sp) Station for emergency evacuation instructions. This is not a drill; repeat: This is NOT a drill1 a Soviet nuclear missile attack has been spotted by DEW Line radars. You have 45 minutes to evacuate the city...".
Would have worked great then; works super-dandy, peachy-keeno great now that the Interstate Strategic Highway System is completed.
KYAGB
The farm-to-market roads were blocked -- either had police or "road blocks" up, preventing people from using them. This according to my sister -- who knew the backroads, but was prevented from using them.
The local LEOs directed traffic to the major highways. They didn't give people the choice.
Perhaps the little communities were afraid they would be overrun by the hords of people passing through their towns.
Seems unlikely. The number of police it would take to block all these roads would be enormous. Further Tom DeLay specifically said that people who used them exited the area in 4 hours as opposed to 14. Furhter, there is no legal authority to block the road. I suspect you were given bum information.
Yes, I know that. But ultimately, it was still for nothing - other than evacuation practice. They wasted time, gas and money running from a storm that never showed up. I'm not saying they shouldn't have fled but, by Friday afternoon, it was obvious they were no longer in danger and, in fact, could have been a destination point for people who didn't want to get into the traffic nightmare headed to Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. If I were still living in the Galveston area and decided on Friday to leave, that is the direction I would have gone.
See post # 8.
People who stop at red lights or stop signs in an emergency when THERE IS NO CROSS TRAFFIC are too dumb to be saved.
That would have been very difficult. Even though the mandatory evacuation had been lifted by Friday, there weren't many businesses open. It was really hard to find a restaurant open in Corpus on Thursday or Friday. As of this evening there were still lots of restaurants that weren't open especially big national chains. There were very few gas stations still open on Thursday morning.
Theoretically there was lots of hotel space available, but there weren't any people around to run them. It would have mad more sense to continue on to the Valley and stay in hotels there.
People are not going to car pool. I'll bet families brought all their cars with them and this caused all the congestion.
I'm a usher at a theater. Do you think people come in early to get their seats. No, they come all at once.
Why didn't they evacuate everyone by bus? Leave the cars behind. People are not going to think rationally. Who would think about filling up extra containers of gasoline or have their cars in tip top shape for emergency evacuation?
You can have a perfect plan but the human factor determines if the plan works.
Most people don't plan for an emergency. My husband thinks I'm crazy stocking up on water in my pantry and purchasing a Buddy Propane Heater just incase we have a real cold snap this winter. We live in a city.
It's Paleo's idea to fill up all the vehicle. All I was saying was to fill up your gas can while you fill up your tank. Doesn't take much planning or forethought. You don't normally want a full gas can but, when lines are long and gas is scarce, the little extra can get you out of danger.
Blog To Watch for Details About Getting Back Home
FYI,
"The Road Home
- What you need to know for a safe return"
Houston Chronicle Blog
http://blogs.chron.com/roadhome
: Once officials have given the OK to return to your community, let
: this blog be your guide home. We'll post information on road
: conditions and fuel availablity here. On the road and want to tell us
: about conditions along your route? Call 713-362-7060 and leave a
: voice message, or send a text message to 832-215-0811.
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