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September 23, 2005
Chaos II (It's the Relief that kills 'em)
Hurricane Rita is coming on strong towards my homeland of Texas and I continue to seethe. I have alot of family and friends in the Houston area, so this one is hitting closer to home. Because of the flub-ups after Katrina, federal, state and local officials see Rita as an opportunity at redemption and thus are spreading gloom and doom across the Gulf regions of Texas. So much so that there is a 100 mile traffic jam out of Houston. People are running out of gas on the interstate as they sit in virtual standstills for 10 hours or more. A bus full of elderly evacuees caught fire and killed up to 24 people.
I have to admit, this one can't be blamed on the feds. Houstonites know that traffic is an issue everyday and not just at rush hour. WHAT IDIOT ORDERED THE EVACUATION OF THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY IN AMERICA AT THE SAME TIME?
Houston officials should have known better. When there is a water shortage in Texas, water use is restricted in an orderly and fair manner so that all the most important needs are being met in the most orderly manner. If there is enough water to do so, lawns may be watered on alternating days depending on your street location and address. A simple solution to distribute a finite amount of resource. Why wasn't a similar plan put forth for Houston's evacuation? The mayor ordered an evacuation of Houston on Wednesday knowing the storm was scheduled to hit on Saturday. People have been evacuating since as early as Tuesday. That's up to 4 days that could have been organized and planned. Why weren't people given a scheduled evacuation date/time/route according to their license plate or address? It's a simple plan, and though not perfect, certainly better than the alternative playing out before us. And what happens if this hurricane hits the millions of people that are stuck in traffic? People are safer in their homes.
As far as I know, most of my family and friends got out in time and are safely with relatives or friends. I do have one aunt and uncle who are still there and must wait out whatever storm comes. They unfortunately didn't get out when it was possible but were, at least, lucky enough not to try when it wasn't and are thus safe in their homes rather than stuck in the worst traffic jam in history.
Hurricane Rita was downgraded to a Category 3 storm at approximately 2pm today. That's still a big storm, but nothing compared to the Category 5 it once was. Typically, a hurricane continues to lose steam once it downgrades. I hope so. I hope people are spared anymore damage to their lives and homes. Sadly, at this point, the damage has been done. Rita could turn into a light rain by landfall and it would still be a catastrophe.
Posted by mermu at September 23, 2005 02:51 PM
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