Thanks....prayers for those people!
12:50 AM - Tornado warnings issued for Avoyelles and Rapides Parishes, based on a radar-depicted cell capable of producing a quick spin up. Eyewall tornado warnings were also issued earlier for Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, as well as Jefferson and Orange Counties.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lch/temp/ritablog.htm
Large fire hits Galveston ahead of hurricane
By Erwin Seba - Reuters
GALVESTON, Texas (Reuters) - Firefighters contained a large fire that broke out in downtown Galveston on Friday night, engulfing three buildings and sending flames shooting into the sky as the first winds from Hurricane Rita began whipping the coastal island.
Fire crews fought the blaze on the eastern side of the city, which had been mostly evacuated in anticipation of the storm. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Winds of 60 to 70 mph (96-113 kph) had pushed the flames across roofs of nearby buildings and sent sparks swirling down on firefighters, forcing them to stay well back.
One of the buildings appeared to have burned nearly to the ground but the fire was prevented from reaching the historic buildings and several Victorian houses nearby.
One emergency medical worker was injured and rushed to a nearby hospital with burns, a city spokeswoman said.
Firefighters doused the buildings with water as they struggled against the wind and rain, and conditions were expected to get far worse.
"We're expecting winds of 100 miles an hour in 20 to 25 minutes. I recommend you get to shelter," one Galveston police officer told a Reuters reporter as the fire raged.
Electricity was knocked out across most of the island, which was nearly erased in a 1900 hurricane that killed 8,000 people.
Hurricane Rita's center was expected to make landfall in the eastern Texas Gulf coast near Port Arthur in early hours of Saturday.
Prayers for everyone on the outskirts of this thing, too. Rita's outter bands are packing a lot of water and wind.