[Dog Gone]

It's not that simple. People didn't leave when they should have (except in Galveston) and you just can't contraflow the freeways easily. Every onramp has to be blocked for about 100 miles, and just as soon as you do it, you're cutting off access to the city. Doctors coming to work at the hospitals. People living north of the airport trying to catch a flight. Trucks delivering water, plywood, and gasoline.

Not only that, WAY more people evacuated than were in "mandatory evacuation" areas. My subdivision is nearly empty, and we're 50 miles from the closest evacuation area. My next door neighbor left for Austin around 9 a.m. today. I'll bet he's nearly made it to I-10 by now, which is about four miles away.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

My wife picked up a couple of people and left her mom's in old Sugar Land at 0750. It took her just over 4 hours to get to Grant Road @ Jones, several miles north of 1960 going Eldridge all the way.