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

[No Blue States]

Sept. 24, 2005, 10:40PM

Dam damage forces evacuation on Trinity
By ALLAN TURNER and ZEKE MINAYA
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle


Trinity River Authority began releasing massive amounts of water from Lake Livingston northeast of Houston today in a frantic effort to lower the lake level after Hurricane Rita's winds and tropical waves dislodged part of the earthen dam's protective shield of boulders.

Riverside residents from Polk County to the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated from their homes because of flooding expected to occur in the river's flood plain. While river authority emergency management director Spencer Karr said the dam did not appear in immediate danger of failing, he said engineers thus far have not been able to determine the severity of the damage.

The release of 80,000 cubic feet of water per second, a process that should continue through Monday, will allow a thorough examination of the damaged structure, Karr said.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/chronicle/3368309

[No Blue States]

Sept. 24, 2005, 10:40PM

Dam damage forces evacuation on Trinity
By ALLAN TURNER and ZEKE MINAYA
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle


Trinity River Authority began releasing massive amounts of water from Lake Livingston northeast of Houston today in a frantic effort to lower the lake level after Hurricane Rita's winds and tropical waves dislodged part of the earthen dam's protective shield of boulders.

Riverside residents from Polk County to the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated from their homes because of flooding expected to occur in the river's flood plain. While river authority emergency management director Spencer Karr said the dam did not appear in immediate danger of failing, he said engineers thus far have not been able to determine the severity of the damage.

The release of 80,000 cubic feet of water per second, a process that should continue through Monday, will allow a thorough examination of the damaged structure, Karr said.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/chronicle/3368309

[No Blue States]

Oops! sorry for the double post.

"The emergency release of water was the first in the 85,000-acre lake's history."

[GummyIII]

Well, I'm certainly no CNN fan, but I've been watching both FNC and CNN. CNN has had better coverage during both hurricanes with less histrionics.

[GummyIII]

Dang! I wonder how many folks will read this?

..the dam did not appear in immediate danger of failing, he said engineers thus far have not been able to determine the severity of the damage.

This is not very assuring.

[silentknight]

Yeah CNN has done a good job lately with the canes.

[GummyIII]

FNC has too many "purty boys" and "purty girls" vying for the limelight during these events. I mean, my gosh, Geraldo and Shep fought for the same spot during this last one. Shep must have had more clout as he got the most "favored" spot.

[laz]

Well, I'm certainly no CNN fan, but I've been watching both FNC and CNN. CNN has had better coverage during both hurricanes with less histrionics.

Well, I'm afraid I simply wouldn't know. Watching CNN is too hazardous for my health -- and the health of my tv.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Could not have said it better.
It's CONTROL (actually, LOSING CONTROL) that the local authorities are afraid of - once the disaster (fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake) ceases immediate impact.

The FIRST local official to "let" people back into their houses and businesses becomes liable for their "safety" (supposedly) and so the first official wants to "wait" until it's safe" - until SOMEBODY TELLS HIM/HER that everything is normal (trees removed, power lines up and back to normal, water recovered, and streets cleared.)

IF the local officials let people back in now, then THEY worry about all the "civilians" "getting in their way of recovery efforts." It's an inane worry, but the government loses control if they let people live.

Watch for those quotes from TX and LA officials now.

You'll see them thousands of times.

[No Blue States]

http://www.pcoem.org/dam_failure.htm

"The dam is approximately 14,400 feet long and is generally between 45 and 60 feet high, reaching 90 feet at the old riverbed. The earth embank­ment has an impervious core and its section has slopes of 1 vertical to 2.5 horizontal. The crest of the dam is at elevation 145.0 ft. National Geo­detic Vertical Data (NGVD), and is 24 feet wide. It accommodates a single-lane-paved road, which provides access to TRA personnel, law enforcement and emergency vehicles.

The dam is served by a concrete gravity spillway with an ogee crest at elevation 99.0 ft. NGVD. Releases are controlled by twelve 40-foot long by 32-foot high trainer gates. Concrete upstream and downstream aprons direct the water through the spillway and back to the original river chan­nel.

The outlet works consist of a vertical inlet tower with five gates, a 550-foot long by 10-foot diameter conduit, a 170-foot long stilling basin, and a concrete broad-crested weir. A short channel downstream of the stilling basin directs flows back to the river.

Normal (conservation) pool level for the reservoir is 131.0 ft. NGVD, which encompasses a reservoir area of about 82,600 acres and storage of 1,750,000 acre-feet. Maximum pool design surcharge elevation is 134.0 ft. NGVD, which corresponds to a reservoir surface area of 88,900 acres and 2,045,000 acre-feet of storage. The drainage area above the reservoir is approximately 16,583 square miles and average flows are 7,440 CFS.

Livingston Dam is classified as a large, high-hazard structure with a recommended spillway design flood equal to the probable maximum flood (TDWR, 1978). According to the TDWR, the project will pass only 90% of the PMF before overtopping the dam."

[laz]

Shep must have had more clout as he got the most "favored" spot.

Shep got the spot, but then he lost the hat. And another... and another... and another...

[GummyIII]

LOL...I agree when it comes to "normal" news. With the hurricanes, though, they've done a remarkable job. I haven't been all that impressed with FNC lately, either.

[No Blue States]

On the live feed they were talking about the dam and I noticed a convoy of about a dozen dump trucks, and one man going over the side of the dam in a harness.

I hope its nothing too serious and that the flood has already peaked at the lake.

more info for the area from the EOM:

http://www.pcoem.org/FLOODS.htm

[GummyIII]

Yep...been thinkin' about sending him one of these:

[GummyIII]

I'm certainly no expert, but I know the peak stage with floods depends on the tributaries/streams feeding the lake and the amount of water the received as well as the when/where. So, it's possible it hasn't peaked. I sure hope it has. The fact they are evacuating people to drain it quickly doesn't bode well, though.

[ClearBlueSky]

I am flattered, thank you!
Unfortunately, Louisiana politics has entered an entirely new realm of incompetent. We will have to compose a new dictionary of adjectives -in English and Cajun French- for the likes of Blanko and the thinking that got her elected.

Bobby Jindal should have been our Governor. On TV yesterday he was so far and above Blanko in attitude and leadership it was sad. He told of a company that wanted permission to bring in helicopters to rescue their people as New Orleans flooded. They couldn't get it. So HE gave them permission. He said-
Sometimes you have to do what you have to and then ask for forgiveness instead of permission.
If every local leader had that attitude things wouldn't have been so pitiful.

[ekwd]

Good common sense here. Hurricanes don't always go where the last minute predictions say they will and they don't always weaken as they approach land. Sometimes, as with Andrew in FL, they strengthen at the last moment. My aunt, the mother of my Houston cop cousin, was in Columbia, SC when Hugo went in at Charleston. Columbia (around 100 miles from Charleston) went through days of blocked roads and no power. She was really worried and so was I.

[laz]

He told of a company that wanted permission to bring in helicopters to rescue their people as New Orleans flooded. They couldn't get it. So HE gave them permission.

What a terrible indictment of Blank-o's utter lack of any leadership ability. But just one of many.

Now, when is she really going to be indicted?

[ekwd]

Were the trees in your neighborhood built to withstand a hurricane? I don't know about Texas trees but when storms knock down Alabama trees and those trees fall on houses, the houses go down too.

[No Blue States]

This map of the Trinty River basin shows that much of the flooding took place east of there.:)
(remember the heaviest rains were Lufkin, se and east)

http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/gis/gishydro01/Class/trmproj/schneider/main.h3.jpg

Meanwhile the lake level has dropped over a foot with the emergency release.

http://data.trinityra.org/Lake_Rainfall.php?step=7&drpIncrem=d&B1=Draw+Map

Looking better imo. As the lake level drops they can check out what damage there is and fix it. People downstream are lucky Rita didnt stall on the Trinity basin above Livingston.

Ps: that 117 mph gust was higher...the gage blew away!