Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VIII

www.freerepublic.com | September 24, 2005

[Howlin]

Hurricane Rita landfall is anticipated within the next few hours. Strong winds and heavy rains are battering southern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.

MSM news crews are shouting over the howling winds as they foolishly describe blowing rain, swaying trees, and crashing waves through rain splattered camera lenses. It's a hurricane. We know these things already.

An 18 wheeler rig reportedly overturned on an I-10 bridge. The fate of the truck driver is unknown at this time. Reports of widespread power outages in Lake Charles. KPLC-TV Lake Charles local news has remarkably improvised their reporting from a remote location. They are taking calls from residents, NWS, and public utility representatives, and alerting residents to local conditions.

On the flip side, CNN announced to the world that law enforcement officers had evacuated from Port Arthur TX with the rest of the population. Engraved looter invitations would have been more elegant.

Godspeed to all those in the path of this storm.

The following links are self-updating:

Public Advisory Currently published every 3 hours 5A, 8A, 11A, 2P, etc. ET
NHC Discussion Published every six hours 6A, 11A, 6P, 11P
Three Day Forecast Track
Five Day Forecast Track

Rita Forecast Track Archive
Forecast Models
Buoy Data Western Gulf of Mexico
Houston/Galveston/Beaumont/Lake Charles Wx Watches/Warnings
Jefferson Co TX NWS Weather
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Louisiana
Hi Res Houston Flood Zone Map Slow load, great detail

Images:

Lake Charles Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Lake Charles Experimental Radar Outages and Delays May Occur

Storm Floater IR Loop
GOM WV Loop
GOM IR Still Image
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)

KHOU-TV/DT Houston
KPRC-TV/DT Houston
KTRK-TV/DT Houston
KTRH-AM Houston
KPLC-TV/DT Lake Charles/Lafayette
KSLA-TV/DT Shreveport

Additional Resources:

Hurricane Rita Freeper CHECK IN THREAD

FReeper Sign In Thread (LOCKED) Check in to let us know whether you are staying, going, and when you get there
FReepers Offering Lodging To Rita Evacuees People and/or Pet Friendly FReepers Offering Shelter
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
KPLC Lake Charles Evac Routes, news
KFDM Beaumont/Port Arthur News, evac info
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston
Galveston Webcams
Golden Triangle Weather Page Provides Galveston Weather, Warnings, Radar, etc.

Category	Wind Speed	Barometric Pressure	Storm Surge	Damage Potential
Tropical Depression	< 39 mph < 34 kts			Minimal
Tropical Storm	39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts			Minimal
Hurricane 1 (Weak)	74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts	28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more	4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m	Minimal damage to vegetation
Hurricane 2 (Moderate)	96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts	28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb	6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m	Moderate damage to houses
Hurricane 3 (Strong)	111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts	27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb	9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m	Extensive damage to small buildings
Hurricane 4 (Very strong)	131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts	27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb	13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m	Extreme structural damage
Hurricane 5 (Devastating)	Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts	Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb	Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m	Catastrophic building failures possible

Previous Threads:
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VII
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VI
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part V
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part IV
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[Rennes Templar]

I was channel surfing yesteday and came acroos the Cali anti-war protest. As two female commentators were waiting for Joan Baez (mind you I was holding my nose while forcing myself to see what was going on), they held an interview with a near hysterical Congresswoman Maxine Waters. She exasperatingly said that the "rich and powerful elite of NO had already had a secret backroom meeting and they decided not to let the po' people back in NO and we have to fight them." Even the peace-chic commentators were dumbfounded.

[Cvengr]

It's difficult to gauge the extent of damages from media and government official reports. I wonder why emergency response centers operated by Homeland Security/FEMA don't have status reports continuously available for the press to more accurately access the situation when they keep the entire population from returning to clean up the mess.

For example, the Big 6 natural gas pipelines that produce natural gas for the bulk of northeast US and Canadian consumers have the bulk of their gas sources in the gulf along Rita's and Katrina's track. Their compressor stations are placed about every 50 to 200 miles along their pipelines. If not allowed access to those systems, the NE would be without Natural Gas for about a week after they are allowed to return.

Throughout the entire region, the bulk of repairs will never be made by the government, but by the population with free markets and small business efforts. Most trees in roadways aren't going to be cleaned up by the government, but by local residents with chain saws.

Potable Water isn't going to be guaranteed for the population by bottled supplies, but by repairing the existing water mains to water supply points and then restoring all municial utility districts over a 1-3 month period.

There's no need to declare bayous off limits during regular times, so IMHO, rather than creating a Big Brother police state appearance, the efforts would focus on communicating the extent of damages and where areas are so flooded to not allow any occupation.

The TV reports in most cases of evacuation I've seen so far, are nothing greater than any 3" rain every neighborhood receives on a monthly basis in Houston. Streets might be flooded 6" above the curb but houses are still 1-2 feet above the water levels. This tells me that there is grossly insufficient reporting underway.

The issues I see evolving are how to 'reboot' the logisitcs in the gulf coast. The best way I see that happening, IMHO, is by 'parallel multiuser, multitasking,..not a sequential minimal response made with lots of effort by a few.' The later seems to be off by several orders of magnitude and is likely to cause significant repercussions nationally and internationally.

My frustration of our Homeland Security is not that they aren't involved, but that there seems to be lack of intuition of how to trust the people themelves in the region being assisted. Rather than acting in grace and love for their fellow man, there seems to be a more intuitive lust for control being exercised by local and state government officials who are clueless of the magnitude of liabilities they are addressing.

[laz]

If I hear the words "not as bad as expected" or "dodged a bullet" again today I am going to lose it.

Amazing, isn't it? I get a sense of apathy from the MSM in Rita's wake, not the frenzy we saw after NOLA started flooding. There simply isn't much that serves their agenda for them to exploit, besides "The Great Texas Traffic Jam".

Meanwhile, GOM seems determined to reclaim all Louisiana real estate south of Interstate 10.

[silentknight]

Any idea of how much water?

[Knitting A Conundrum]

You and me both, jeffers, sweating it out...with lots of reason...if the weather system hadn't pulled east, we'd be seeing the horrors of what a strong storm would have done to Kemah and Bacliff and Clear Lake and Galveston and so on. The pics we're seeing from the Louisiana coast about flooding would be Texas pics.

When it was time to evacuate, there was no way to be sure where it was going to hit. If they had waited, it would have been too late to evacuate.

My brother who evacuated, says they need to evacuate a week early, not just 3 days.

[blam]

"You have the con."

A few of us know what that means. (SS-368)

[Knitting A Conundrum]

It was in yesterday's 1-2-3 rule graph (which shows areas which could develop into tropical weather), but not in today's. Buhbye Phillipe!

[SE Mom]

I'm not familiar with the geography- so not clear on what this means- the trooper told Leventhal when you go up on the bridge and look (towards Cameron) all you see is water.

Hard to tell from that if this means the entire town- or a certain section. Doesn't sound too good.

[meyer]

Good posts, jeffers. Many of them are good food for thought. Get some rest if you aren't doing so already.

[laz]

Hmm... TWC seems to have changed their Rita forecast. Last night, they were saying she'd be picked up by the front and taken out of there to the northeast. Just now, though, they said she's going to linger there for some time.

If rain continues in that entire area, and flooded rivers continue to be blocked from flowing to the GOM -- which is piled into southern LA and not going anywhere -- not only NOLA is going to be Atlantis.

[Cvengr]

"You have the con."

Careful on choice of words,...to Gov. Blanco, that means she has another day-laboror available.

[laz]

I have to wonder why he's standing in the batter's box without a bat.

And without a clue.

[laz]

Just saw Rick Levanthal in Lake Charles talking to a state trooper. Cameron is UNDER water.

Cameron was right on the coast. That coast is now up around Lake Charles. And there are some other little towns between Cameron and Sabine Pass. These places are in worse shape than places like Buras and Venice in Plaquemines were after Katrina's passage.

[Aggie Mama]

I really don't understand all of this Monday morning quarterbacking.

We have plenty of neighbors and friends that chose to leave. They based that on the NHC depection of what would happen over our part of town: Cat 5 makes landfall with 175 mph winds. Tracks over the west side of town and hits Katy and NW houston with 100-125 mph winds.

That's really a no-brainer for most people. Everyone that I've talked to that has made it back into town is fine with their decision. They know that sitting for 16 hrs in traffic to get to San Antonio or Dallas was based on the information that they had at the time.


The are also fine with facing long lines to get back in to town and no a/c for a week--they just want to get back home.

[janetjanet998]

well Rita is spliting in two one part should get pushed NE and the lower part stalled over the SE US somewhere...Ivan did the same thing, alot of it moving NE and away but a peice broke off and reformed..so rita may "give birth"..

[Knitting A Conundrum]

I know it.

[silentknight]

Great post.

[laz]

Hard to tell from that if this means the entire town- or a certain section. Doesn't sound too good.

I would say that it probably means the entire town. It was right on the coast, and the gulf has gone inland as far as Lake Charles, 20 to 25 miles to the north.

Putting towns in places like that is like begging hurricanes to wipe them out.

[laz]

"You have the con."

A few of us know what that means. (SS-368)

I was going to reply with, "Aye, Keptin. I'll keep an eye out for Klingon wessels."

[laz]

When it was time to evacuate, there was no way to be sure where it was going to hit. If they had waited, it would have been too late to evacuate.

If any city waits until it's certain it's going to be hit, it'll be too late to evacuate. Better to err on the side of caution, even if the hurricane ends up hitting elsewhere. Evacuating for nothing may seem like a big inconvenience, but dying is even more inconvenient. No evacuation should be started less than 48 hours before expected landfall.