Posted on 09/22/2005 12:24:35 PM PDT by truthandlife
KHOU showing news conference talking about this now. Leaving 290 as it is so that necessary supplies can get in (pre-position?). Also, 150 miles of I-10 is now contraflow. I-45 was already contraflow.
I think, the plans are all there, and this satifies the requirement...but I don't think, anyone believes that we really can evacuate our big cities, when needed.
I'm not seeing it on the live cameras.
A woman stands outside her car on Interstate 45 near downtown Houston on Thursday.
Storm evacuees stand on the side of Highway 290 which has become a parking lot as people attempt to flee Hurricane Rita.
Motorists wait in line for fuel at one of the few open gas stations in Pasadena, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005. Residents were evacuating the area west of Houston due to a mandatory evacuation prior to Hurricane Rita arriving.
It's not along the entire highway (this is because they have to close all access points where flow is reversed). KHOU is showing points where traffic is transfering through the median to the contraflow lanes.
See – that’s a f-ed up mess for a couple of reasons. First, they’re going to run it out of fuel pretty quickly. Second, even if a fuel truck shows up right now there’s no way to drop the load because you’ve got people parked all over the lot – and they’re sure as hell not going to move off the tanks and lose their place in line after sitting there a while.
Yeah, with kids now I would definitely do what is needed to get them out of harms way. If I didn't have kids, I would probably stick around...on the mainland, no way would I stick around on Galveston island.
Smart people take the regular city streets all of the way out to back roads that lead out of town.
Dumb people take the main arteries and freeways.
I call it the Lemming syndrome. They just have to follow the ones in front of them no matter how slow it gets.
I watched this in hurricane Allen and was simply amazed that the evacuation from Corpus Christi was an eight to twelve hour ordeal when all they had to do is head west on a standard two lane highway, a few farm roads and "Viola!" they would be in San Antonio in about two hours.
People need to think for themselves...not let the government think for you.
I agree. I have the impression that they regard it as impossible. Maybe we need a different "they".
KHOU mentioned highway 6, 35 and 71 out of Houston. They made the same point as you did - that often these roads are much less crowded. A current traffic report on those routes is coming up.
All exits had to be blocked, and a certain number of Highway Patrol at each exit to prevent anyone going the wrong way - were the reasons (all safety related) I heard about the delay in contra-flow, which has never been done in TX before today.
Just announced - Mandatory evacuation called for Liberty County. Unfortunately, they are almost out of gas in the area and there is a 15 mile back up into Liberty County coming from the South. A local trooper said that in the next 2 hours the situation could become desperate as thousands of cars run out of gas in traffic because there is simply no gas around.
"A local trooper said that in the next 2 hours the situation could become desperate as thousands of cars run out of gas....."
Wonder if the nanny has Mad Max on the dvd?
Maybe I missed it, but did they evac. the Astrodome?
What if the power goes off there like it did the Superdome?
Absolutely!
It took my brother-in-law from 5:00 PM to 10:00 AM to travel from Houston to Waxahachie via I-45 to 287. (normally 2.5 to 3 hour drive)
Evacuees of One Storm Flee Another in Texas
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Published: September 21, 2005
HOUSTON, Sept. 20 - Hurricane Rita prompted a mandatory evacuation of this city's public shelters on Tuesday, emptying them as quickly as they had filled just three weeks ago and sending still-dazed survivors of Hurricane Katrina packing off to Arkansas, to the bus terminal, to the airport and, for some who considered themselves lucky, to paid and furnished apartments here in the Houston area.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.