[Alberta's Child]

The biggest lesson learned from the Rita evacuation was that nothing ever works according to plan in a situation like that.

In fact, in the age of cell phones and the internet I believe the basic idea of a limited evacuation or staged evacuation effectively no longer exists ... unless you have police and military personnel on the scene with "shoot to kill" orders.

[a fool in paradise]

What I learned from Rita’s evacuation:

When you get the notion to leave, go. The longer you wait, the more people who are getting that idea.

The “traffic and weather together” station 740am was beyond worthless that day giving traffic reports or “news”. They kept playing that same non-news report about some grandmother looking for her cat.

Carry a map in your car. While most exits from I-10 were blocked into the small towns, if you managed to get to one of the alternate highway systems, there was no congestion. But you’d need a map to find your way. And iphones don’t always work out in rural communities. You need a real map on paper.

Don’t count on the promises of those in charge to deliver fuel or open up the highway systems. Empty promises to make the wait seem like things will get better.