Not evacuating for Rita..

[C.Ann]

I don't understand why there are people who are refusing to evacuate anywhere in the cone of where this hurricane could make landfall.. Last night it made a slight wobble and there's still time for it to wobble again..

With Hurricane Katrina, many people couldn't evacuate - for one reason or another, they didn't have the means - but these people in Texas have had plenty of opportunity to leave and instead they choose to gamble with their lives.. I just heard on the news that they're telling these people to write their social security numbers on their bodies with permanent markers..

Why do people make such foolish choices? I would have been out of there yesterday morning at the very latest.. :confused3

This is going to be the third most intense hurricane ever to come through the Gulf.. Does that not mean anything to these people? :confused3

[AllyandJack]

There was a local radio guy from TX on with the local Boston guys this morning. He said his family left, but he was staying to report on the storm. He said something funny and then said, "I'm doing this for posterity in case I don't make it....this way, you'll have me for the 'best of' shows."

He was trying to be funny.....but, it wasn't funny to me. It gave me the chills.

[chadfromdallas]

Why do people make such foolish choices? I would have been out of there yesterday morning at the very latest.. :confused3

This is going to be the third most intense hurricane ever to come through the Gulf.. Does that not mean anything to these people? :confused3

People in general are ignorant. There were people who stayed during Katrina and could have left. I don't feel sorry for them. Well, actually, I do, but only because of their lack of common sense.

[dturner]

Well, from the sounds of what is occuring on I45, I think a lot of people can't get out because of the traffic jam.......I heard a report that said it took someone 25 hours to drive from Houston to Dallas - that's insane!!!

People are being stranded on I45 because they are running out of gas, no gas to be found - I wonder how on earth all those people are going to get far enough away when they can't find gas.

[Nancy]

One woman said "I don't think it will be all that bad when it comes ashore" I wish I knew where she was from, but she wasn't evacuating.

[WDWHound]

My BIL live in a mobile home north of Houston. Up until this morning, he was refusing even consider leaving. I think that only now is it starting to consider that his mobile home may be about to become a whole lot more mobile than he would like. However, at this point, he feels the roads are too jammed to try to get to Austin, so he, his family and my MIL are all heading to a ranch near Conroe. It will still be rough there, but they will be in a permenant building.

Why did he wait so long? I have no good answer. To be honest, I think he didn't want to look stupid if he left and later found out didnt need to. In my opinion, NOT leaving made him look stupid.

[ducklite]

that his mobile home may be about to become a whole lot more mobile than he would like.

Serious topic, but that was REALLY funny!

Anne

[Belle1962]

Just finished watching a news conference with the Governor of Texas--they are starting to position trucks along the highways to give gas to people who run out.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They're stupid and think they know everything really.

One guy said that everyone is just being influenced by Katrina....like it was a bad thing.

Hate to say it--but sometimes you must laugh at the suffering they CAUSE themselves to be in. It is sad really--and not funny. But the temptation is--well then fire rescue should stand by their word and not rescue your sorry, think you know everything, immortal buttocks.

It really gets my goat--b/c rescuing the idiots takes the time away from rescuing those who could not help themselves.

We have one fellow here--lives on the island...but he built a hurricane house....pretty darn smart....sort of. Supposedly it will withstand cat 5...and I assume that includes surge....but really--who wants to live in their house when it turns into a submarine?

It's the whole "It can't happen to me" and if it does, I can take it. That and stuffitis.

[Grog]

I had to really bite my tongue (or fingers) when it comes to some of the ignorant comments here. The roads are so jammed that it is taking an hour to move one or two miles, and it is getting worse as people run out of gas. Part of the problem has been people evacuating too early, not too late. The low lying areas are broken up into evacuation zones to try to help alleviate that, but when three zones try to leave all at once, instead of waiting until their posted time, it creates chaos.

We're all packed and ready to go, but by the time we got off work and made our way home, the roads were already jammed. Given the choice, I'd rather ride it out at home, than in a vehicle stuck on the side of the road. If it were possible, we would be gone by now. We're hoping that the fact that a lot of people are on the road now, plus the fact that they are finally opening up the freeways to allow traffic to go the wrong way, will help alleviate that. We plan to head out at 4:00 am Friday.

Yes, there are a lot of stupid people out there, and there are those that are simply caught up in the events that are unfolding around them. Please try not to judge unless you have been through something like this.

[dturner]

Just finished watching a news conference with the Governor of Texas--they are starting to position trucks along the highways to give gas to people who run out.

Thanks for posting this - I was wondering what all those people were going to do with no gas.

[dturner]

I had to really bite my tongue (or fingers) when it comes to some of the ignorant comments here. The roads are so jammed that it is taking an hour to move one or two miles, and it is getting worse as people run out of gas. Part of the problem has been people evacuating too early, not too late. The low lying areas are broken up into evacuation zones to try to help alleviate that, but when three zones try to leave all at once, instead of waiting until their posted time, it creates chaos.

We're all packed and ready to go, but by the time we got off work and made our way home, the roads were already jammed. Given the choice, I'd rather ride it out at home, than in a vehicle stuck on the side of the road. If it were possible, we would be gone by now. We're hoping that the fact that a lot of people are on the road now, plus the fact that they are finally opening up the freeways to allow traffic to go the wrong way, will help alleviate that. We plan to head out at 4:00 am Friday.

Yes, there are a lot of stupid people out there, and there are those that are simply caught up in the events that are unfolding around them. Please try not to judge unless you have been through something like this.

May God look over you as your trying to get out of Houston.

[4nana]

:worried: Now they are reporting, for all those who won't evacuate, don't bother calling 911, as they'll have many emergencies keeping them busy.

Some people are not only stubborn, but must be thrilled by danger :confused3. After what happened in NO this ole' girl scout would have had her gas tank filled when hurricane first reported, stocked up with neccessities, and been outa there in a heartbeat!! For I learned long ago, it's not nice to pay with mother nature!!

Godspeed all those in the path of Rita. ^i^

[Nancy]

I had to really bite my tongue (or fingers) when it comes to some of the ignorant comments here. The roads are so jammed that it is taking an hour to move one or two miles, and it is getting worse as people run out of gas. Part of the problem has been people evacuating too early, not too late. The low lying areas are broken up into evacuation zones to try to help alleviate that, but when three zones try to leave all at once, instead of waiting until their posted time, it creates chaos.

We're all packed and ready to go, but by the time we got off work and made our way home, the roads were already jammed. Given the choice, I'd rather ride it out at home, than in a vehicle stuck on the side of the road. If it were possible, we would be gone by now. We're hoping that the fact that a lot of people are on the road now, plus the fact that they are finally opening up the freeways to allow traffic to go the wrong way, will help alleviate that. We plan to head out at 4:00 am Friday.

Yes, there are a lot of stupid people out there, and there are those that are simply caught up in the events that are unfolding around them. Please try not to judge unless you have been through something like this.

I was wondering if maybe it was better to wait until closer to the storm to leave. With so many getting out early I would think waiting a bit might be better. But I don't the comments are ignorant...just concern for those that choose not to go because they feel it won't be that bad.

[Lisa F]

After sitting in their cars overnight and going not even 20 miles, a lot of people are giving up and going home. Even if they can get out of houston, it seems like every hotel in texas is booked up (clear to the arkansas and oklahoma borders) so if you don't have a reservation, forget it. I can see why people who are not in mandatory evacuation areas and flood zones might decide to try to ride it out rather than spend hours and hours in 100+ degree (record breaking btw) heat going nowhere fast on the highway.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes, there are a lot of stupid people out there, and there are those that are simply caught up in the events that are unfolding around them. Please try not to judge unless you have been through something like this.

As someone who lives walking distance to the coast line in Florida...

My judgements are reserved for those idiots who go on the news and proudly proclaim that this is nothing and everyone has Katrina fever.

Also--a friend of mine with 5 children....also living on the coast...tried evacuating one night and when traffic was too slow for comfort she turned around and came home...after stopping for bbq.....they left the next morning at 5am.

The traffic is sucky--but it probably won't stay that way forever. So to make a blanket statement that that is the sole reason for not departing...is pretty sad for anyone who insists on staying behind.

Having nowhere to go or somewhere to go and just problems getting there...isn't the same as the citizen still riding her bike with her son on an island in Texas.

ETA: Just as you are upset by the comments some of us are making...as I am for the insinuation that we are talking about everybody who can't evacuate or having problems doing so. So I'm sorry for being so blunt.

[Grog]

My judgements are reserved for those idiots who go on the news and proudly proclaim that this is nothing and everyone has Katrina fever.
No argument there. They just showed some fool on the news swimming in the water just off the sewall in Galveston.

Our biggest worry isn't the amount of time it might take to get somewhere, but running out of gas on the freeway. Hopefully that will be less of a problem by the time we get ready to leave in the morning.

[theSurlyMermaid]

I just feel bad for the people who can't get out because of the traffic and gas issues....it's like they're trapped. It's a very scary and unsettling feeling.

[cats7494]

I do worry about the people who refuse to evacuate and are in harm's way.
My dh's brother, wife, and 2 little girls are in Houston and are trying to leave today. I can not get through on their cell phone - the circuits have been busy all day.

I certainly keep all the people in the path of Rita in my thoughts and prayers!

[chadfromdallas]

After sitting in their cars overnight and going not even 20 miles, a lot of people are giving up and going home. Even if they can get out of houston, it seems like every hotel in texas is booked up (clear to the arkansas and oklahoma borders) so if you don't have a reservation, forget it. I can see why people who are not in mandatory evacuation areas and flood zones might decide to try to ride it out rather than spend hours and hours in 100+ degree (record breaking btw) heat going nowhere fast on the highway.

Hmm, I'd rather sweat it out and stick to the traffic rather than stay around and die from rising water....That's just me though. No hotel? No problem. Head to a shelter.

There are gas trucks on the highways now. Gas shouldn't be an issue any more.

[chadfromdallas]

My dh's brother, wife, and 2 little girls are in Houston and are trying to leave today. I can not get through on their cell phone - the circuits have been busy all day.

Hmm, that's odd. I'm having no problem getting through to my friend's cell phone down there. :confused3

[Lisa F]

Hmm, I'd rather sweat it out and stick to the traffic rather than stay around and die from rising water....That's just me though. No hotel? No problem. Head to a shelter.

There are gas trucks on the highways now. Gas shouldn't be an issue any more.

Not ALL of houston is in a flood zone. In fact a good portion of the metro area isn't. We used to live there, got flood insurance real cheap because we were outside of a 500 year flood plain. I'm not talking about people on Galveston island (they should have been in a much earlier wave of evacuees anyway) but anyone in the greater metro area. There are many many people who are in "the cone" but who are NOT in a mandatory evacuation zone.

edited to add, unless C.Ann was talking about ONLY people on the coast where the hurricane will make initial landfall. I think the traffic problems in Houston are more due to the fact that before Katrina most people who are not in mandatory evacuation zones would choose to ride out the hurricane, but now it seems like EVERYONE is trying to leave town. If we still lived there, we would too. Interestingly enough, I've been checking the city of Pearland's website (where we used to live). Yesterday they were saying that there were going to be no mandatory evacuations, the city is not in a flood plain etcetc. This morning they said there were for certan zones (those in flood plains). Now they are calling for mandatory evacuations of the entire city. I'm wondering if mandatory evacuations are way more widespread than the last time I checked.

[Belle1962]

cats7494: try text message if you can. I read a report this morning that it uses different bandwidths???? than cell calls PLUS it stores and sends as soon as it can. While you may not be able to "talk' to them you may be able to contact them this way.

For those in TX--don't forget you can forward your home phone number to your cell phone if you are leaving.

[DisWDWMay]

My sister left Houston yesterday morning and it took her 9 hours to get to San Antonio. I have several friends that left last night or early this morning and still have not arrived in Austin (where I live) and they're all reporting stalled cars on the road down here.

Knowing that, I can totally understand why some people, if they are not in a flood plain or in a trailer would prefer to ride the storm out in Houston. Houston is not in a bowl or surrounded by water like New Orleans is.

Some may flame me but I think this is a classic case of overreaction on the part of many Houstonians, fed by the media and the government, due to Katrina. Panic set in and everyone left at the same time. Many houstonians left even though they didn't live in a flood plain (most of West Houston), had small children, or had a disability. This resulted in the gridlock thats occuring. If we do this every time there is a threat of a hurricane, there will be hurricane fatigue.

Gov Perry was all over the airwaves saying we're as prepared as any state in the nation but it looks like they were not prepared for the 100 mile parking lot in the 100 degree weather thats causing cars to overheat. Believe me, it is a very uncomfortable ride and potentially dangerous with small children. We just don't have a good plan in place period for the evacuation of a large city in the event of a hurricane. Once mandatory evacuations were issued for galveston and Houston clear exit routes should have been outlined and broadcasts, with phased exits. For example they just opened up all eight lanes of I45 to northbound traffic this morning. Why didn't they do that last night? Also I read if you took some of the smaller country roads there was virtually no traffic. Why haven't these alternative routes been broadcast.

Sorry if this sounds like whining about government again, but I'm tired of them patting themselves on how much better they're doing when the storm hasn't even arrived yet and we're still having all these problems evacuating. I hope they learn a few lessons here too.

[chadfromdallas]

Some may flame me but I think this is a classic case of overreaction on the part of many Houstonians, fed by the media and the government, due to Katrina. Panic set in and everyone left at the same time. Many houstonians left even though they didn't live in a flood plain (most of West Houston), had small children, or had a disability. This resulted in the gridlock thats occuring. If we do this every time there is a threat of a hurricane, there will be hurricane fatigue.


This is laughable....

Overreacting to a cat 4 hurricane? Are you joking? :confused3 Other than the flooding, there are other dangers.

[Miss Jasmine]

I don't know what to say. When Frances was bearing down last year looking like a monster storm I decided not to evacuate. If I was RIGHT on the coast, I would have left. But the more I waited and watched, it seemed like she was losing her intensity and the conditions were favorable for that to continue so I stayed.

Like right now Rita is finishing her eyewall replacement cycle and will come out a weaker storm. She will be hitting some cooler waters. She should make landfall as a Cat 3. The real issue here will be the rain. Up to 25-inches could fall inland.

It's not easy to just up and leave, and I think there may be some Katrina-fever going on. Yes be safe, get out if you need to, err on the side of safety.

Editing to add: after looking at satellite images, anyone immediately East of the cone better prepare as well. This thing keeps on moving more east.

[WDWHound]

This is laughable....

Overreacting to a cat 4 hurricane? Are you joking? :confused3 Other than the flooding, there are other dangers.
I agree with Chad. Sure, a large percentage of the time (perhaps even the majority of the time), evacuation proves to be an over reaction, but the problem is you can only tell if was an over reaction in hindsight. Unless you assume every storm is dangerous and evactuate everytime, sooner or later you will find yourself ion a storm that puts your life in serious danger.

In short, the only sane reaction to an approaching Hurricane is the over reaction (ie evacuation). If you try to predict where a Hurricane's destruction will fall and how bad the destruction willl be, the odds are good that sooner or later you will guess wrong and you will end up being one of folks on TV who say "I didn't think it would be that bad", assuming the huiriicane doesn't kill you first.

[Grog]

There are gas trucks on the highways now. Gas shouldn't be an issue any more.
Actually it is still an issue. Not more than 10 minutes ago the local news reported that while the trucks may be enroute, no one has been told how they plan to get gas to vehicles that are in areas that won't be easy to reach. There is talk of setting the trucks up in rest areas, but no idea about who will be given priority on who gets gas first, the first in line, or the family with the baby and grandmother in the car. No matter what, it's going to be a long process to get gas to everyone that needs it and get traffic rolling again.

Hopefully from this will come a plan to have trucks rolling and emergency fuel stops set up as soon as evecuation orders are given in the future.

[4nana]

OMG - do they need 4nana to go down and help?!?!!?

Hello! Haven't we learned a thing??? OPEN those dang multi south bound lanes to clear out the north bound grid lock so twice as many cars can exit!!!!!! Come on, let's get people out of there people!!

[C.Ann]

OMG - do they need 4nana to go down and help?!?!!?

Hello! Haven't we learned a thing??? OPEN those dang multi south bound lanes to clear out the north bound grid lock so twice as many cars can exit!!!!!! Come on, let's get people out of there people!!
---------------

For sure! I can't even begin to imagine being stuck like that.. :earseek:

As for the issue of overreacting or underreacting, I would rather overreact EVERY time and be alive - than underreact ONCE and be dead.. I would have been out of there LONG before those traffic jams started with the voluntary evacuations.. Call me an alarmist, but I'd still like to live for a few more years.. :earseek:

[dturner]

OMG - do they need 4nana to go down and help?!?!!?

Hello! Haven't we learned a thing??? OPEN those dang multi south bound lanes to clear out the north bound grid lock so twice as many cars can exit!!!!!! Come on, let's get people out of there people!!

I thought they did that this morning. Have they not opened them yet???

[Grog]

I thought they did that this morning. Have they not opened them yet???
Yes they have, but it takes time to get things moving again. One reporter gave a good example... when you have a stalled car on a normal day, that might cause a two to three mile backup, it can take 30 minutes to get traffic flowing smoothly again once the lanes are clear. In this case we are talking about a 100 mile backup.

[DisWDWMay]

I agree with Chad. Sure, a large percentage of the time (perhaps even the majority of the time), evacuation proves to be an over reaction, but the problem is you can only tell if was an over reaction in hindsight. Unless you assume every storm is dangerous and evactuate everytime, sooner or later you will find yourself ion a storm that puts your life in serious danger.

In short, the only sane reaction to an approaching Hurricane is the over reaction (ie evacuation). If you try to predict where a Hurricane's destruction will fall and how bad the destruction willl be, the odds are good that sooner or later you will guess wrong and you will end up being one of folks on TV who say "I didn't think it would be that bad", assuming the huiriicane doesn't kill you first.

Yes, overreaction. Many Houstonians were NOT in harm's way but with everyone screaming "you're going to die if you don't get the out" they panicked and now the traffic jams all around Houston are causing some people that ARE in harm's way to decide to stay. Luckily the storm looks to be tracking away from Houston but this could have been a potentially disastrous just because our evacuation plans were not smart.

The way the evacuation took place WILL introduce hurricane evacuation fatigue and many people who should leave will not leave in the future.

[chadfromdallas]

Yes, overreaction. Many Houstonians were NOT in harm's way but with everyone screaming "you're going to die if you don't get the out" they panicked and now the traffic jams all around Houston are causing some people that ARE in harm's way to decide to stay. Luckily the storm looks to be tracking away from Houston but this could have been a potentially disastrous just because our evacuation plans were not smart.

The way the evacuation took place WILL introduce hurricane evacuation fatigue and many people who should leave will not leave in the future.

Oh, well, I'm glad you can tell just where the hurricane is going to be dangerous. Thinking about changing careers? :rolleyes:

[4nana]

Removed my reply, before I have to eat my own words. :guilty:

[tzuhouse]

I'm with you. We were leaving early this morning. Had all out cars packed and ready. DH is an essential County employee and, up until last night about 9pm, was going to have to work today and then meet up with us later. Then his boss called and said if he got some stuff done that the County needed, he could evac with us. So he was up almost all night writing these computer programs for the County. At 5am I'm watching the news and the traffic is the same as it was yesterday. I called a gas station right where we would emerge from the backroads to get on the highway. I was hoping that all the congestion and 3mph speeds were only "in town" but they weren't. We would have driven for an hour (at best) just to get to the freeway and then find out that they won't even let you on the freeway because it's so congested. I have many friends that spent 10 hours on freeways today and finally just went back home because they hadn't even made it across town, let alone out of town. I think the comments I'm reading here are from people that have no idea what we are doing here. I'm not going to put my 6 year old in a car for 15 hours, run out of gas and then have him start seizing on the side of the road because he is overheated. I'll take on Rita because from everything we are being told, it's safer to stay in our homes than get on the road. We can't even get 5 blocks from our house to pick up Ryan's seizure meds, which I was having filled early, just so we would have plenty. There is traffic absolutely everywhere and no gasoline anywhere. Luckily, we filled up 3 days ago with the intention of evacuating. Now they are saying they don't want us to unless we live in a mandatory area because the congestion is still bad after all this time.

Mary

I had to really bite my tongue (or fingers) when it comes to some of the ignorant comments here. The roads are so jammed that it is taking an hour to move one or two miles, and it is getting worse as people run out of gas. Part of the problem has been people evacuating too early, not too late. The low lying areas are broken up into evacuation zones to try to help alleviate that, but when three zones try to leave all at once, instead of waiting until their posted time, it creates chaos.

We're all packed and ready to go, but by the time we got off work and made our way home, the roads were already jammed. Given the choice, I'd rather ride it out at home, than in a vehicle stuck on the side of the road. If it were possible, we would be gone by now. We're hoping that the fact that a lot of people are on the road now, plus the fact that they are finally opening up the freeways to allow traffic to go the wrong way, will help alleviate that. We plan to head out at 4:00 am Friday.

Yes, there are a lot of stupid people out there, and there are those that are simply caught up in the events that are unfolding around them. Please try not to judge unless you have been through something like this.

[DisWDWMay]

Oh, well, I'm glad you can tell just where the hurricane is going to be dangerous. Thinking about changing careers? :rolleyes:


Sorry if this hit a nerve. No I am not an expert but I've lived in Houston and been through a couple of hurricanes. There are many parts of Houston that are not in a flood plain and are not in danger of storm surges. True, there are some dangers but there should be some priority given to people in low-lying areas and who live in or close to flood plains. From what I understand from friends in Houston there are many areas that are not under mandatory evac orders but people were leaving from there in droves anyway. Thus the gridlock.

Now thanks to the logjams many people in mandatory evac areas are not able to leave.

Anyway I've said enough on this subject and I apologize for bringing this up as this is obviously not what this board wants to hear.

[4nana]

I had to really bite my tongue (or fingers) when it comes to some of the ignorant comments here. The roads are so jammed that it is taking an hour to move one or two miles, and it is getting worse as people run out of gas. Part of the problem has been people evacuating too early, not too late. The low lying areas are broken up into evacuation zones to try to help alleviate that, but when three zones try to leave all at once, instead of waiting until their posted time, it creates chaos.

We're all packed and ready to go, but by the time we got off work and made our way home, the roads were already jammed. Given the choice, I'd rather ride it out at home, than in a vehicle stuck on the side of the road. If it were possible, we would be gone by now. We're hoping that the fact that a lot of people are on the road now, plus the fact that they are finally opening up the freeways to allow traffic to go the wrong way, will help alleviate that. We plan to head out at 4:00 am Friday.

Yes, there are a lot of stupid people out there, and there are those that are simply caught up in the events that are unfolding around them. Please try not to judge unless you have been through something like this.



Originally posted by tzuhouse
I'm with you. We were leaving early this morning. Had all out cars packed and ready. DH is an essential County employee and, up until last night about 9pm, was going to have to work today and then meet up with us later. Then his boss called and said if he got some stuff done that the County needed, he could evac with us. So he was up almost all night writing these computer programs for the County. At 5am I'm watching the news and the traffic is the same as it was yesterday. I called a gas station right where we would emerge from the backroads to get on the highway. I was hoping that all the congestion and 3mph speeds were only "in town" but they weren't. We would have driven for an hour (at best) just to get to the freeway and then find out that they won't even let you on the freeway because it's so congested. I have many friends that spent 10 hours on freeways today and finally just went back home because they hadn't even made it across town, let alone out of town. I think the comments I'm reading here are from people that have no idea what we are doing here. I'm not going to put my 6 year old in a car for 15 hours, run out of gas and then have him start seizing on the side of the road because he is overheated. I'll take on Rita because from everything we are being told, it's safer to stay in our homes than get on the road. We can't even get 5 blocks from our house to pick up Ryan's seizure meds, which I was having filled early, just so we would have plenty. There is traffic absolutely everywhere and no gasoline anywhere. Luckily, we filled up 3 days ago with the intention of evacuating. Now they are saying they don't want us to unless we live in a mandatory area because the congestion is still bad after all this time.

Mary

May Godspeed ^i^. Please know that you, your families and all in harm's way are in our many thoughts and prayers.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sorry if this hit a nerve. No I am not an expert but I've lived in Houston and been through a couple of hurricanes. There are many parts of Houston that are not in a flood plain and are not in danger of storm surges. True, there are some dangers but there should be some priority given to people in low-lying areas and who live in or close to flood plains. From what I understand from friends in Houston there are many areas that are not under mandatory evac orders but people were leaving from there in droves anyway. Thus the gridlock.

Now thanks to the logjams many people in mandatory evac areas are not able to leave.

Anyway I've said enough on this subject and I apologize for bringing this up as this is obviously not what this board wants to hear.

Many who were in Camille said the same thing and they are dead. Or best case scenario--just trapped in their home.

A category 5 storm hitting a major metropolitan area is nothing to sneeze at.

Thankfully it is downgraded and hopefully it will downgrade even more.....but it is a little more than the sky is falling.

The gridlock is the result of a plan that didn't go as planned--and that the emergency officials will make it better so it flows more smoothly next time.

[lil mermaid]

Yes, overreaction. Many Houstonians were NOT in harm's way but with everyone screaming "you're going to die if you don't get the out" they panicked and now the traffic jams all around Houston are causing some people that ARE in harm's way to decide to stay. Luckily the storm looks to be tracking away from Houston but this could have been a potentially disastrous just because our evacuation plans were not smart.

The way the evacuation took place WILL introduce hurricane evacuation fatigue and many people who should leave will not leave in the future.

Are you nuts??? All of us Houstonians are in harm's way!!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

She's still projected as a 4 at landfall.

[Free4Life11]

Well with the insane traffic and lack of gas, I don't blame people for not evacuating! How are you supposed to get out? Just sit in traffic for 12, 14, 16 hours?? And all you get is 30 miles...insane. I know a lot of people just wouldn't have the patience for that.

You know the problem seems to me that, while the highways may be 3-5 lanes wide in/near the cities, the farther out you get, many go down to 2-3 lanes. I'm sure it's very costly to build them bigger in the first place, but I mean it would be wise to think of this in future plans. This would likely happen in any major city.

It looks like traffic has gotten better though:

http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/data/layers/harris_all_layer_speed.gif

[JennaTX]

My husband and I stayed up late last night watching the news, trying to decide if we should wake the kids and leave, I am glad that we did not. It is still crazy out there! Some freeways are going better, I10 and I45 which they opened up for all lanes heading out. However, 59 and 290 have not been opened up, so they are still a parking lot. There are still stranded travelers all over the place that do not have any gas and cannot get any. The Mayor basically said earlier tonight, that unless you are in Zones 1,2,or 3 not to try and evacuate. Luckily we are in an area that has not flooded in the last 100 years and are about 70 miles from the coast. We still have the worries of those darn pine trees that always topple over though, but we are luckier than some!

With talking with many of my friends/neighbors today, we all felt like even if we wanted to evacuate, we couldn't. We did fill up our cars on Tuesday in preperation for this, but what are people supposed to do if they get 40,60,100 miles out of Houston and they run out of gas and the gas stations are also out? Then you are stuck on the highway when the hurricane starts to come through? I feel much safer in my home than taking two children in my car without any guarantee that there is fuel available to get me to Dallas (where my mom and sisters are) than getting stuck somewhere on I45.

Hopefully all of us here in Rita's path will make it through safely!

[tzuhouse]

Definitely looks better than it did earlier, although that red area at 1960 is a little deceiving. I'm sitting here watching a live video on the news of the area just 4 miles or so from 1960 and there are 8-10 lanes of traffic heading north and it's barely moving. Red Cross is opening shelters all along the way of I-45 and 290, just to try to get people off the roads. The temperature has dropped some, so at least people are suffering from heatstroke now. There is still no gasoline. The trucks are supposedly out there, filling up motorists who are on the side of the road, but I haven't seen a single one on any news channel and I'm watching 4 separate ones at the same time. There are individuals on the sides of the roads, handing out water to whomever needs some, because the trucks with the water bottles haven't showed up yet and there are people dehydrated all over the place. Today's heat was record breaking for this time of year. 98F, but felt like 105F or so.

Mary

[4greatboys]

I don't understand why there are people who are refusing to evacuate anywhere in the cone of where this hurricane could make landfall.. Last night it made a slight wobble and there's still time for it to wobble again..

With Hurricane Katrina, many people couldn't evacuate - for one reason or another, they didn't have the means - but these people in Texas have had plenty of opportunity to leave and instead they choose to gamble with their lives.. I just heard on the news that they're telling these people to write their social security numbers on their bodies with permanent markers..

Why do people make such foolish choices? I would have been out of there yesterday morning at the very latest.. :confused3

This is going to be the third most intense hurricane ever to come through the Gulf.. Does that not mean anything to these people? :confused3

I know its easy to look in say we should do such and such. Well I can only tell you what we experienced "trying" to evacuate.
I took me 12 hours to drive 30 minutes from my house. In all we spent about 20 hours on the road basically just sitting. I ended up still here in Houston thanks to Cheri's (bumcats) offer to stay with her family. They are to the west of the cone and we should all be okay here.
If you can find gas you are damn lucky. Fill the tank before you leave you say? We did, sitting hours on the freeway uses a lot of it up. If you can top it off, again you are damn lucky.
Rumors of gas trucks?? They have 8 for a population of around 6 million with Houston and the surrounding areas. No hotel rooms to take shelter in. Most were taken from Katina victims--I hate this is happening to them again.
No shelters in town. They just tonight at 9:30 started to open a few for the people they see will never get out. They are few and far between.
MANY of us started evacuating during the voluntary stages and still didnt get anywhere.
Even tonight I still sit here watching these poor people trying to get out of town. With Katrina we knew we had to get out with Rita but its almost impossible.
Tonight I sit saying a prayer for friends and people I dont even know. I know what they are going through and its not good at all.
My family shoved what we could in our cars. We live close to Galveston and I left knowing the chances were great my house will be destroyed or badly damaged.

[chadfromdallas]

I ended up still here in Houston thanks to Cheri's (bumcats) offer to stay with her family. They are to the west of the cone and we should all be okay here.

Oh, that reminds me of a thread I was going to start!

If anyone 18-25 is looking for a place to stay, toss me a private message.... :teeth: I'm in Denton :smooth: Only room for single, females ;) :earboy2:

[froglady]

After what I've seen in the last two days, I've made the decision that I probably will NOT evacuate for any hurricane. I'm just outside of the category 5 evacuation zone, people downhill from me would have to evacuate. Yes, I might be "stranded" in my home, but I've prepared as best as possible; plywood for all windows, generator with 4 empty containers to be filled as soon as a storm approaches along with a "junk" car that would be another back-up, tarps and roofing nails, first aid supplies, etc. I'm more concerned with trees, but Charley and Jeanne pretty much took care of that last year.

Many people do NOT know their evacuation zones; our paper printed a full page map last Sunday. It also included alternate evacuation routes.

The mayor is erecting poles in the flood prone areas of the city showing how high the water would get in the different categories.

[Miss Jasmine]

I have read this thread and for the most part the people who have been through this understand and the others who have not faced such a decision do not. You may want to get out, but sometimes it is just not logistically possible.

[Lisa F]

At this point in the process it sounds like it would be suicidal to get on the roads. I just hope they can get everyone who is already ON the road and stuck between two places into some kind of shelter before the tropical storm force winds start. The thought of being stuck on that highway with no gas and nowhere to get off the road (there is not a whole lot between texas cities) and seek shelter is terrifying. It's better to stay put at this point where you at least know you have better shelter than your car.

Brazoria County (the county between galveston and houston) officials blasted Harris County officials (most of houston is in Harris County) for ordering a mandatory evacuation of Harris County before Brazoria's mandatory evacuations were complete, so it's not JUST a matter of people panicking and clogging up the roads but also a matter of officials not following the laid out plans themselves.

[bsnyder]

After what I've seen in the last two days, I've made the decision that I probably will NOT evacuate for any hurricane. I'm just outside of the category 5 evacuation zone, people downhill from me would have to evacuate. Yes, I might be "stranded" in my home, but I've prepared as best as possible; plywood for all windows, generator with 4 empty containers to be filled as soon as a storm approaches along with a "junk" car that would be another back-up, tarps and roofing nails, first aid supplies, etc. I'm more concerned with trees, but Charley and Jeanne pretty much took care of that last year.

Many people do NOT know their evacuation zones; our paper printed a full page map last Sunday. It also included alternate evacuation routes.

The mayor is erecting poles in the flood prone areas of the city showing how high the water would get in the different categories.

If you're outside the CAT 5 zone, you're probably much better off not evacuating and spending the time instead preparing your home and laying in supplies.

One thing that I haven't really heard much of in the Texas evacuation is something I heard our officials preaching over and over again last summer. That is...find the safest place that's closest to your home. If more people would do that, the roads would be far less clogged. In last summer's hurricanes, I talked to many people that had numerous options (family members, friends, co-workers who lived in the suburban parts of our area - in other words, out of the flood zones here in south Tampa) but when push came to shove, they wanted to go to Disney World to evacuate.

[golfgal]

OMG - do they need 4nana to go down and help?!?!!?

Hello! Haven't we learned a thing??? OPEN those dang multi south bound lanes to clear out the north bound grid lock so twice as many cars can exit!!!!!! Come on, let's get people out of there people!!


That is what I kept thinking last night when I watched the news. All the southbound lanes were wide open, no cars in site. Keep maybe the farthest west lane open for southbound emergency vehicles and let the rest of the traffic use all of the remaining lanes. They showed one hwy, don't know which, that had 4 southbound lanes, 4 middle lanes and 4 northbound lanes. They were only using the 4 northbound lanes. They could have at least used the other 4 middle lanes (I am assuming those were commuter lanes of some sort). What am I missing here that they aren't using all available traffic lanes to get people out of there?

[bsnyder]

Keep maybe the farthest west lane open for southbound emergency vehicles and let the rest of the traffic use all of the remaining lanes.

How do you do that? How do you communicate to all those drivers that you want that lane open? And enforce it?

You can't use traffic cones or barricades - they're out there now picking stuff up that will potentially be missles in the coming winds, not putting more stuff out there.

[Lisa F]

I'm reading on a local houston forum that the mayor said last night if you aren't already on the road, please don't get on the road. Stay where you are. So I guess that answers that, anyone from this point forward who stays home is doing so because they are being told to.

[mickeyfan2]

As for the issue of overreacting or underreacting, I would rather overreact EVERY time and be alive - than underreact ONCE and be dead.

Same here.

[C.Ann]

Such sad news this morning - with the explosion of that evacuation bus carrying the elderly and infirmed.. This situation just keeps getting worse and worse.. :(

Some reports this morning are indicating that a large part of the evacuation gridlock was caused by people waiting too long to get on the road and families taking as many as three vehicles per family in an attempt to carry as much of their belongings as possible..

Hopefully things will loosen up a bit today - they will get gas to those who are stranded - and everyone will get somewhere safe.. This whole thing is beginning to feel like a "doomsday" scenario.. :(

Prayers and best wishes to all who couldn't get out..

[4greatboys]

Some reports this morning are indicating that a large part of the evacuation gridlock was caused by people waiting too long to get on the road and families taking as many as three vehicles per family in an attempt to carry as much of their belongings as possible..

Many left when it was voluntary evac. Our school and my dh employer didnt make any deicions about what was closing and til Wed pm. The storm then was predicted to hit Friday 2 am. Who in the world imagined if you left then, plenty of time before the storm hit, you would still be sitting in traffic 24-36 hours later??

[C.Ann]

Many left when it was voluntary evac. Our school and my dh employer didnt make any deicions about what was closing and til Wed pm. The storm then was predicted to hit Friday 2 am. Who in the world imagined if you left then, plenty of time before the storm hit, you would still be sitting in traffic 24-36 hours later??
--------------------

I'm sure many people wouldn't have imagined that - just as people wouldn't have imagined that some families would take as many as 3 vehicles per family -causing an even worse gridlock.. :(

I just hope everyone is stays safe - no matter where they are..

[DisWDWMay]

[QUOTE=C.Ann]
Some reports this morning are indicating that a large part of the evacuation gridlock was caused by people waiting too long to get on the road and families taking as many as three vehicles per family in an attempt to carry as much of their belongings as possible..

[QUOTE]

I suspect many families wanted to save there valuables as well as there cars from flooding. During Hurricane Allison a couple of years back lots of cars got flooded and many families probably did not want a repeat. I don't know how we can solve this in the future except to put a little more structure to our evacuation plans, as I certainly don't want to force people to leave their valuables behind if we can help it.

[Lisa F]

Some reports this morning are indicating that a large part of the evacuation gridlock was caused by people waiting too long to get on the road and families taking as many as three vehicles per family in an attempt to carry as much of their belongings as possible..

The way it's supposed to work is that those under mandatory evacuation get out first and then voluntary people go after. Part of the criticism that I am seeing is that the mayor called for voluntary evacuation too early. So basically people are damned if they do and damned if they don't. You wonder why everyone in "the cone" wouldn't evacuate, the reason is that there is no way to get every single person who is inside "the cone" out of Houston. The gridlock is being caused by trying to put 5 lbs of crap in a 2 lb box. Not every family has 3 cars to take with them but if we had kids, it would take us at least two cars to get our kids and our pets out of town. We BARELY fit our pets into our car for our move from MD to NY and they took up the entire back seat. Pet carriers and car seats for young kids take up a lot of space. So for a simple family of 4 with 3 cats, we would need two cars. Add some large dogs and another kid or two and it's not unreasonable that people would be evacuating with more than one vehicle.

If people are smart about bringing supplies with them that they would need, pet food and people food and diapers and clothing and blankets and water take up a lot of space as well. If you want to envision that the gridlock is caused by selfish people who cannot bear to leave their big screen tvs behind, that's fine.... but having commuted in Houston traffic I can tell you that gridlock is a fact of life in that city even when it's just one person in one car going to work.

It's not as simple nor as easy as people on the outside would make it out to be, but nothing ever is.

[golfgal]

How do you do that? How do you communicate to all those drivers that you want that lane open? And enforce it?

You can't use traffic cones or barricades - they're out there now picking stuff up that will potentially be missles in the coming winds, not putting more stuff out there.


They had cones all over the place on the news report I saw. I would think that if they had all the lanes open people would have gotten out of there faster and they would have had time to pick the cones up. As far as keeping one lane open moving in the opposite direction, that could be a standard practice in an evacuation plan with occasional signs on the side of the road, permanent signs, saying during an evacuation, the what ever lane is reserved for authorized vehicles only, or something. I saw signs like this in Florida that said something like, during an evacuation, these lanes are northbound lanes only (when they were normally southbound lanes).

[C.Ann]

. If you want to envision that the gridlock is caused by selfish people who cannot bear to leave their big screen tvs behind, that's fine.... but having commuted in Houston traffic I can tell you that gridlock is a fact of life in that city even when it's just one person in one car going to work. .
------------------------------

Did I say that? No - I didn't.. I relayed what was being reported on the news.. No need to "shoot" the messenger..

[Grog]

We made it out OK. Waiting until Friday morning may have been what helped us. For those familiar with the area, we live in the Southbelt area, about a mile from Beltway 8. We took the beltway to Hwy 90, then took Hwy 71 when we reached the little town of Altair. When we reached Columbus 71 dog-legged and we had to get on I-10 for about a mile. This was a very heart wrenching moment. The sides of the freeway were jammed with stalled vehicles with hundreds of people milling around, many wandering with gas cans in hand. The police had done a good job of clearing the way so that thoseof us with gas could get through. The sight was very surrealistic, and there is no way I can fully describe it here and do it justice.

After we got back on Hwy 71 we were able to move at a steady speed of about 60 mph until we reached Austin. We arrived there with about 1/4 of a tank of gas and were able to refuel and continue on to Llano, about an hour west. Whole trip took about 6 hours (normally takes 5, so we really lucked out).

For those of you still stuck out there, or who couldn't get out, we'll be thinking of you. Hopefully it won't be too bad and you'll ride it out OK.

[C.Ann]

We made it out OK. Waiting until Friday morning may have been what helped us. For those familiar with the area, we live in the Southbelt area, about a mile from Beltway 8. We took the beltway to Hwy 90, then took Hwy 71 when we reached the little town of Altair. When we reached Columbus 71 dog-legged and we had to get on I-10 for about a mile. This was a very heart wrenching moment. The sides of the freeway were jammed with stalled vehicles with hundreds of people milling around, many wandering with gas cans in hand. The police had done a good job of clearing the way so that thoseof us with gas could get through. The sight was very surrealistic, and there is no way I can fully describe it here and do it justice.

After we got back on Hwy 71 we were able to move at a steady speed of about 60 mph until we reached Austin. We arrived there with about 1/4 of a tank of gas and were able to refuel and continue on to Llano, about an hour west. Whole trip took about 6 hours (normally takes 5, so we really lucked out).

For those of you still stuck out there, or who couldn't get out, we'll be thinking of you. Hopefully it won't be too bad and you'll ride it out OK.
---------------------------

Phew! SO glad to hear you made it out.. Things sound a little better now (or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part) so let's hope all those who stayed fair well and that when you return home your place will be fine.. :flower:

Thanks for letting us know!

[stacey_leah]

One thing that I haven't really heard much of in the Texas evacuation is something I heard our officials preaching over and over again last summer. That is...find the safest place that's closest to your home. If more people would do that, the roads would be far less clogged. In last summer's hurricanes,

Unfortunately lots of people couldn't find anywhere close because of all the evacuees from NOLA. I'm from SWLA Lake Charles area. By the time they called an evacuation from our area, people from Texas had already filled hotels. The closest hotel we could find on Wednesday night was in Little Rock. I heard that the closest hotel available as of yesterday was in TN. We are lucky to have family in Dallas, so that's where we are now.

[arminnie]

I lived in Houston in 1983 when Alicia, a Category 3 hurricane, was directly headed to Houston and Galveston. It shifted slightly and hit part of Galveston.

I lived on the far west side of Houston in an area that never flooded. Believe me floods are common in the Houston area - you know if you live in a vulnerable area.

I did not evacuate in 1983 nor did anyone that I knew. I was without power for a day, and it rained so hard that some water came over the top of my foundation from a gutter that was emptying in a corner of the house.

I pulled up the carpet and put a board up to route the water back out of the house. When it all dried out I put the carpet back down a few days later. I didn't cost me a penny in repairs but would there would have been significant water damage if I'd been gone.

I think a lot of people freaked in Houston after Katrina and evacuated when they did not need to. That made it very difficult for those that really needed to get out of the low areas.

For most people (good health, etc) being without power for a day or two is an inconvenience not a life threatening event.

I guess I wasn't that worried about the winds as I'd already been through a tornado (1979 I think) in Houston and my house stood up to it.

I would not have evacuated Houston for Rita.

[MagicKingdom05]

C.Ann,

Who knows why some didn't leave. You would have thought that after what Katrina did and all those lives lost, people whould have gotten out. However maybe they thought that Katrina was the 100 year storm and figured something like that can't happen twice in a row.

[Shadeaux]

lots of people couldn't find anywhere close because of all the evacuees from NOLA. I'm from SWLA Lake Charles area. By the time they called an evacuation from our area, people from Texas had already filled hotels. The closest hotel we could find on Wednesday night was in Little Rock. I heard that the closest hotel available as of yesterday was in TN. We are lucky to have family in Dallas, so that's where we are now.

We were able to spend a night with friend's in Monroe, LA after evacuating the Lake Charles area. Unfortunatly because they already had family staying there because they lost their house in New Orleans, we had to go elsewhere Friday. The closest hotel we could find was in Birmingham, AL. That's where we are now. We have to leave here Tuesday as the hotel is completely booked. I have no idea where we'll go from here. I know we most likely won't be able to return home for awhile as our house is in an area that floods when the rivers start backing up.

Have you heard anything about your area? A friend who has a son living near Central library found out his house is okay. My daughter's friend & his family stayed in Westlake. He called her at 4:30am today to let her know he was okay. He went to Moss Bluff just off Theriot road and found his trailer was okay too. It sounds as if the worst of the storm damage was southwest of the city.

[stacey_leah]

I heard our house in Sulphur is ok. It's between hwy 90 & beglis. I have an aunt that went to Toledo Bend and my FIL stayed in Moss Bluff. We still haven't heard from either of them.

I'm hoping to return home on Monday - just depends on when they'll let us in.

[rie'smom]

Its real easy to say what you would do in a situation until you are face with that particular situation. Before any hurricane,if you live on the coast-LEAVE. If you live in an area that floods-LEAVE. If you guys remember, it wasn't the wind from Katrina that killed all those people. In Mississippi it was the storm surge and in New Orleans, the levees were breached.

[Boo Boo]

I guess the people who didn't evacuate don't look so stupid now, eh? Everyone in hurricane areas knows that evacuating isn't easy; maybe now the rest of the country actually sees this and can get their self-righteous heads out of their butts. When you're in the situation, it seems lose-lose, and as this one (and Charley) proved, you just never know where it's going to hit until it's too late to go very far. (NOLA is a different story -- it's not a big city, and the evac is completely necessary as we've always known -- I yell at my "staying put" friends there every time any hurricane whatsoever comes along). But with the bus full of elderly people plus all the reports I heard of pets dying of heat stroke on the highway, you can bet a lot of people would have been better off staying put. I just hope the powers that be can get this figured out and coordinate a reasonable evacuation -- I've known since I was a kid that gas is scarce before a hurricane -- now I did hear that they increased production beforehand, but why they don't divert beaucoup gas trucks down along the evacuation routes is beyond me... just like it seems like even a 5th grader could figure out that you can air drop food and water after a storm even if you can't get into the area. Not that FL has their stuff together AT ALL, but they did tell us not to even try to get out of the region, just to get out of the flood zones and move inland at least 10 miles. It's just so frustrating that it takes a thousand tragedies before people in charge realize something needs to be done.

[chadfromdallas]

I guess the people who didn't evacuate don't look so stupid now, eh?

Sure, they may not look stupid. Its a look of luck that they carry now.

[Shadeaux]

I heard our house in Sulphur is ok. It's between hwy 90 & beglis. I have an aunt that went to Toledo Bend and my FIL stayed in Moss Bluff. We still haven't heard from either of them.

I'm hoping to return home on Monday - just depends on when they'll let us in.
We live north of Moss Bluff in Gillis. We have too many trees close to our house; I'm terrified that one of them may have fallen on the roof. We had to leave our 3 indoor cats in the house and our outside cat and dog outside. I'm more worried about the cats in the house. The dog & cat that normally live outside know where to go to get out of storms.
Good luck to you.

[Boo Boo]

Sure, they may not look stupid. Its a look of luck that they carry now.

I'm going to just give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you didn't read the rest of my post AND that you haven't been paying attention to any of the news regarding the evacuation.

Galveston and flood/coastal/bayfront areas -- yes, stupid not to leave. The entire Houston metro area -- doing more harm than good.

[chadfromdallas]

I'm going to just give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you didn't read the rest of my post AND that you haven't been paying attention to any of the news regarding the evacuation.

Galveston and flood/coastal/bayfront areas -- yes, stupid not to leave. The entire Houston metro area -- doing more harm than good.

And if the hurricane would have hit that area directly? :confused3

[brerrabbit]

Checking back in. My family and I are safe and at home with no damage from the storm. What an interesting few days. We actually decided to evacuate on Thursday and after making all the arrangements at home, boarding up windows putting all possible projectiles away and packing the vehicles we left at 9:30 Thursday morning. We live 30 miles from the Gulf and five miles east of IH 45. We were going to try and make it to College Station to stay with my son who is at Texas A&M. I have lived in the arear my entire life and know all the back roads so I was going to miss the traffic. We started by heading south to try and cut west across to SH 36 which would take us to our destination. As we traveled south the exit we needed was patroled by officers who would not let us exit. We asked how to get to 36 and they sent us farther sout to catch another road that interscected with 36. In other words the way the evacuation worked was you headed north on the route immediatly our they sent you to the beginning of the route on the coast to get in line. Fortunately it wasn't bad and though it was 45 miles out of the way it went quick. It did however eat up presious gas that would be needed later. Listening to the radio it was obvious that the traffic was terrible and our route on 36 pinchpointed in Brenham and getting through there was taking 6 to eight hours. When I got to SH 59 I said the heck with it and went southwest to Victoria which just the day before had been the bullseye for the storm. My cousin lives there and we thought we would go see here and her daughter as her husband was at work on Thursday till 7:00. Made it there in 3 hours no problem. Visisted with her got a hotel a mile from her house and watched the reports as the track moved east. Friends from home had tried to go east to of all places New Orleans. His Aunt has been with them for several weeks after Katrina and had just returned to Riveridge the Sunday before. She had power, water, and everything was fine there. They left at 5:45 AM Thursday and by 1:00 had only made it 35 miles east of Houston on I-10. They heard the reports and decided to go home. We got up Friday and based on the reports decided to go home ourselves. Left Victoria at 12:00 got home at 3:00. We only lost power from 5:00 AM til 3:00 PM Saturday. No damage and everything was fine.

I wrote all that to try and calm myself a little before my rant that might get me kicked off the board or at the least this thread closed. I discuss/ debate on these boards all the time and think thats fine, I don't agree with WRevy, and TheAnswer much of the time but respect their points of view and know they are good people who just think differently than I do. What I have major problems with are some of the people who want to ask directly contridictory questions just for the sake of stirring up trouble. I will not mince words. Questioner and Conversationist you are one in the same person and my advice to you is SHUT UP. One persona says the evacuation is misirable and officials should be held accountable, then your alter ego comes along and says that the storm was all a media hype! Are you truely that stupid? I have lived on the Gulf Coast my entire life as have other posters on this board. There are risks and there are times when you cut and run well in advance of the storm because no one knows where its going. Cat 5's scare me because they are devastating. And guess what a direct hit from a Cat 3 can kill you just as dead as a cat5. I have friends, family and coworkers in the Golden Triangle and their lives have been devastated. For you to sit in either Washington D.C. or Oregon according to your profile and call a Cat 3 media hype is just plain stupid! I don't know iff your male of female but I tend to think female since you male persona in Oregon questioed if it was okay if their husband went away with his friends for a golf trip. You could be Gay and married to your partner and thats fine, but it just doesn't jive with you female persona that lives in D.C. and is a Weathy Investor who according to your posts works in a very political office environment. Funny I thought Weathy investors didn't work in offices.

Whoever you are use the brain between your ears and think before you post.

I now accept any and all consiquinces of my post but from someone who has just been through five days of dealing physically and emotionally with Rita I just don't care.

[C.Ann]

Glad to hear all our fellow DISers that have been able to post are safe and sound.. :flower:

Hopefully there won't be ANY additional hurricanes that make landfall this year.. The last few weeks have been unreal! :earseek:

[Miss Jasmine]

Sure, they may not look stupid. Its a look of luck that they carry now.
Actually, if potential evacuees studied different weather sites instead of just relying on the over-hyping media, many people would have realized that the need to evacuate may not have been that strong. Two days prior to landfall Rita starting moving more northerly and one could see that dry air was going to build in, but no one heard one word of that unless they read and studied different weather sites.

[chadfromdallas]

Actually, if potential evacuees studied different weather sites instead of just relying on the over-hyping media, many people would have realized that the need to evacuate may not have been that strong. Two days prior to landfall Rita starting moving more northerly and one could see that dry air was going to build in, but no one heard one word of that unless they read and studied different weather sites.

And even though it showed a nice movement like that, it still could have easily adjusted course and struck them right on. There have been cases where the projected cone was wrong.

[txaggiemomof3]

Actually, if potential evacuees studied different weather sites instead of just relying on the over-hyping media, many people would have realized that the need to evacuate may not have been that strong. Two days prior to landfall Rita starting moving more northerly and one could see that dry air was going to build in, but no one heard one word of that unless they read and studied different weather sites.

It's so easy to look at this situation from hindsight isn't it. :rolleyes:

On Wednesday night, all of the forecasts (local news, cable news, internet sites including wunderground.com) were all forecasting that the worst case scenario for Houston was extremely probable. All of the computer models were beginning to merge together towards a Matagorda Bay to Freeport landfall. I am 60 miles inland and we were forecasted to get 120 mph sustained winds here! When I checked wunderground.com late on Wed. night, Rita was a Cat. 5 and still intensifying. She was at 897 mb of pressure making her the third strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. Dr. Jeff Masters (at wunderground.com) was even suggesting that Rita could stall over Texas just like Allison did a few years ago and drop torrential rainfall. Like heck was I going to stay here with my three young children if there was even a possibility of this.

I was up until 2:30 AM on Thursday morning studying every piece of information I could get my hands on. Rita's projected landfall shifted slightly to the east at this time but they were unsure if it was a wobble or a trend. And she had wobbled back and forth within the forecast cone all along. I guess I could have stuck around in Houston waiting for more info. but in order to get my family out of the city before Friday morning (when the first bands were projected to come ashore) we knew we had to leave by Thursday morning. We did not have the luxury of waiting around to see if she would change course.

Thankfully for us, Rita continued to shift easterly. We dodged a BIG bullet! I don't regret leaving at all and would do it again under the same circumstances. I'm a little afraid that by dodging the bullet, many people will not leave next time and that we may not be so lucky again!

[chadfromdallas]

I don't regret leaving at all and would do it again under the same circumstances.

Good call.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Actually, if potential evacuees studied different weather sites instead of just relying on the over-hyping media, many people would have realized that the need to evacuate may not have been that strong. Two days prior to landfall Rita starting moving more northerly and one could see that dry air was going to build in, but no one heard one word of that unless they read and studied different weather sites.

Some do not have the luxury of waiting 2 days to see if their own weather guessing works in their favor.

We are slaves to the weather guessers on TV. I don't have a background in meteorology. I leave when I'm told. If it misses...bummer that it was an evac for nothing, but I wouldn't change what I did at all.

IF Katrina wobbled significantly enough--it would have made a big difference in New Orleans. If people waited to guess on their own what to do--things would have been worse.

You're pretty good at the advice you give--but we can only go on the collective of all information we have. Some do not have the luxury of the internet...or minimal education to make educational decisions based on all the info available. They watch the news and go from there. The news does not make the preparation decisions--the state does. What may be hype for one hurricane---is life saving for another. It isn't until after it hits, do we know which it was.

This could have as easily been a big huge hit on Houston.

[theSurlyMermaid]

Some do not have the luxury of waiting 2 days to see if their own weather guessing works in their favor.

We are slaves to the weather guessers on TV. I don't have a background in meteorology. I leave when I'm told. If it misses...bummer that it was an evac for nothing, but I wouldn't change what I did at all.

IF Katrina wobbled significantly enough--it would have made a big difference in New Orleans. If people waited to guess on their own what to do--things would have been worse.

You're pretty good at the advice you give--but we can only go on the collective of all information we have. Some do not have the luxury of the internet...or minimal education to make educational decisions based on all the info available. They watch the news and go from there. The news does not make the preparation decisions--the state does. What may be hype for one hurricane---is life saving for another. It isn't until after it hits, do we know which it was.

This could have as easily been a big huge hit on Houston.

Well said. I love all this Monday morning quarterbacking. Now, apparently, we non-meteorologists can accurately predict what hurricanes do? I see. Any meteorologist worth his salt will tell you a hurricane is BY NATURE unpredictable.

How quickly people forget Hurricane Charley which turned at the last second and took everyone by surprise. Then weather predictors were raked over the coals. Or Camille, which gained power and speed in a sudden burst that caught everyone off guard. I guess the only way people can be happy now is if a Cat 5 had smacked Houston dead on so everyone would not have evacuated for nothing.

[Miss Jasmine]

We are slaves to the weather guessers on TV. I don't have a background in meteorology. I leave when I'm told. If it misses...bummer that it was an evac for nothing, but I wouldn't change what I did at all.


I think the media needs to do a better job. Be more informative rather than hype driven.

[Miss Jasmine]

Well said. I love all this Monday morning quarterbacking. Now, apparently, we non-meteorologists can accurately predict what hurricanes do? I see. Any meteorologist worth his salt will tell you a hurricane is BY NATURE unpredictable.

How quickly people forget Hurricane Charley which turned at the last second and took everyone by surprise. Then weather predictors were raked over the coals. Or Camille, which gained power and speed in a sudden burst that caught everyone off guard. I guess the only way people can be happy now is if a Cat 5 had smacked Houston dead on so everyone would not have evacuated for nothing.
Of course Hurricanes are unpredictable. But I think in this case we saw a lot of people who evacuated who didn't need to even based on what the NHC and officials were saying. People got scared because of the hype.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I think the media needs to do a better job. Be more informative rather than hype driven.


This is why my mom and I call them weather guessers.

About as reliable as the forecast posted 2 days prior in the newspaper. :teeth:


Miss Jasmine may or may not be equating this to Floyd....many many many people in Florida were evacuated unnecessarily....like way many. Not as many as Houston--but they have refined the process so that we don't do that again. However, they have been expressing concern.

Evacuations should be weighed very carefully before being implemented...b/c too many "sky is falling" evacuations when ultimately the conditions didn't warrant it..leads to complacency. And people who would ordinarily evacuate out of need...become conditioned to think that maybe it isn't really necessary after all.

I think it is important---when comparing Houston--and New Orleans..and the unpredictability of hurricanes....cities have to go with what they think is best with what information they have been provided.

Someone posted earlier that all of Houston was under a voluntary evacuation---perhaps more clarity is needed in the future. They said no distinction was made that only certain areas...or certain people--it was for everyone. At one point--the NHC was predicting a 4 landfall with Houston being on the bad side of the hit. Evacuations were already well underway. The city was being praised for thinking ahead. Now they are being chided for it. And New Orleans is just the opposite--not soon enough.....and they are being chided for it.

In the end--until it hits, there are no guarantees...and the city and state government officials aren't certified in meteorology.

You want to move that many people--you need a lot of time...and Houston had that time.

If a 5 was heading my way--I'd sure as heck would be scared...I don't need to watch the news for the freak show :earboy2: .

[C.Ann]

Interesting comment I heard on the news today - I believe it was either the Governor of Texas or the Mayor of HOuston:

"If you evacuate three times and save your life once , you've done the right thing." :flower:

[mickeyfan2]

Interesting comment I heard on the news today - I believe it was either the Governor of Texas or the Mayor of HOuston:

"If you evacuate three times and save your life once , you've done the right thing." :flower:

I like this one.

[rie'smom]

Many of the weather sites do have meteorologists as the moderators. Hardcore weather for one. Also,WWL weather forum always has a meteorologist in charge. NHC was bound and determined that Rita was going to hit the Texas coast. It was easy to see 2 days before the storm hit that Galveston and Houston were not going to take a direct hit. No I'm not a meteorologist but Brad Panovich is and he predicted this ahead of time-so did many others. The storm came in at Cameron LA. Evacuation is a pain-I know I've done it many times. If the NHC and others had stressed a possible LA landfall sooner,many more people might have left. The news people were anxious for the big story- they were salivating over the possiblility of Houston being ripped apart.

[Miss Jasmine]

Many of the weather sites do have meteorologists as the moderators. Hardcore weather for one. Also,WWL weather forum always has a meteorologist in charge. NHC was bound and determined that Rita was going to hit the Texas coast. It was easy to see 2 days before the storm hit that Galveston and Houston were not going to take a direct hit. No I'm not a meteorologist but Brad Panovich is and he predicted this ahead of time-so did many others. The storm came in at Cameron LA. Evacuation is a pain-I know I've done it many times. If the NHC and others had stressed a possible LA landfall sooner,many more people might have left. The news people were anxious for the big story- they were salivating over the possiblility of Houston being ripped apart.
THANK YOU!!!!! I figure it's on me to study this stuff so I know what is the best decision for my family. I have learned so much over the past year, and being so informed makes me feel much better, I now know that I can make a clear decision, free from the hype.

[txaggiemomof3]

THANK YOU!!!!! I figure it's on me to study this stuff so I know what is the best decision for my family. I have learned so much over the past year, and being so informed makes me feel much better, I now know that I can make a clear decision, free from the hype.

Many people WERE informed - this argument is really insulting to me.

Please, tell me which sites were saying Wednesday night that Galveston/Houston was in the clear? Next time I'll check those out. I figured I had a pretty good handle on things between my three local stations in Houston, The Weather Channel, Wunderground.com (Dr. Jeff Masters and Steve Gregory's blogs as well as comments sections), Skeetobiteweather.com, TAOS Damage Forecast, etc..... Believe me, I looked for any piece of positive information I could find and it *wasn't* there when I needed to make the key decision to evacuate my family. Finding out later in the day Thursday or on Friday was too late. I watched this hurricane from when it was a Tropical Depression before it hit the Keys. It changed from being a moderate threat to being a major threat as soon as it emerged from the Keys. We were willing to stay for a Cat. 3 storm but once it was predicted to hit as a Cat.4+ and knowing that parts of inland Mississippi were devastated from Katrina - our decision was made. It is completely your business if you would choose to not evacuate your family under similar circumstances but please do not insult others by assuming that they were somehow uninformed about what was happening.

Sorry if my tone is coming off as rude but it has been an extremely stressful and emotional last week for us and the last thing I want to hear right now was that I was somehow uninformed or a victim of hype in making our decision to evacuate.

Hindsight is 20/20 and I would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to protecting my family.

[RescueRanger]

Actually, if potential evacuees studied different weather sites instead of just relying on the over-hyping media, many people would have realized that the need to evacuate may not have been that strong. Two days prior to landfall Rita starting moving more northerly and one could see that dry air was going to build in, but no one heard one word of that unless they read and studied different weather sites.


Hi folks! I just got online for the first time since last week. I work in law enforcement and I live in Beaumont, TX. We have been on 24 hr shifts since Thursday and are currently on 12 hr shifts with no days off indefinitely. No power, no water or natural gas in some areas, and the city looks like a war zone. I got online today to look for a little distraction and maybe some uplifting threads and the first one i see is this. Let me say that second guessing evacuation orders is foolish. To think that weather forecasters can acurately predict what these storms will do is just ridiculous. The truth of the matter is that for cities the size of Houston and Beaumont and the surrounding areas, you can't just evacuate on a moments notice. If there is ANY chance whatsoever that a storm of Rita's magnitude will strike a particular area, it is only prudent to evacuate. This is an act of nature and hurricanes will go where they want no matter what some forecaster thinks. To those of you who have given well wishes for us in the disaster areas, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those that feel it is necessary to argue over a vital tool such as evacuations, find something better to do with your time. I have wasted valuable time myself in just responding to some of these statements. Excuse me now while I step back out into the real world where lives have been lost and homes have been destroyed. May God bless those that have lost so much in this tragedy.

[C.Ann]

Excuse me now while I step back out into the real world where lives have been lost and homes have been destroyed. May God bless those that have lost so much in this tragedy.
-----------------------

Thanks for all the hard work you're doing for those in need down there.. Thank God for those like yourself who step up to the plate and take their jobs seriously.. The folks there are lucky to have you.. :flower:

Take care and stay safe! :wave:

[lovehoney]

I live in Houston in a 100 year flood plain. I was in a voluntary evacuation zone. With the information I had Wednesday night I decided to evacuate. We went to Dallas area to friends. We left early enough that we didn't hit too much traffic (9 hours to get there).

Because of the weather reports Wednesday night we almost went to family in Abbeville, LA. Now that most of Abbeville is underwater we were really happy with our decision to go north :sunny:. Our family in Abbeville is okay - they headed for relatives in Lafayette - don't know about their houses yet.

I would definitely evacuate again if faced with the information I had Wednesday night. A Cat 5 was headed our way! Yes, I knew it could turn, yes I knew it would probably weaken - but I was not willing to take the chance with my two small children. The probability of it hitting Galveston and 150 miles either side of Galveston were almost the same.

To evacuate or not is a really hard decision when you are faced with it. Everybody has a different situation and I can't really find fault with anyone who decided to leave.

RescueRanger: Thanks for the great work you do! We are sending tons of prayers your way!

T

[yecats]

Hi C.Ann - I just responded to another post that you had but in reference to this one. I am a permenantly displaced person who is lucky enough to have a good employer that employed most of the New Orleans people in his Lafayette office. As such the closest that I could locate an apartment was 20 miles west outside of Lafayette (thousands of displaced persons had done the same thing I did when they learned that they couldn't return home anytime soon) and the apartments and housing went within days of Hurricane Katrina. Trust me, I would have never rented the apartment that I did but there was nothing else available. As such this now placed me on the edge of Hurricane winds for Hurricane Rita (yep I stayed).

Why you ask? Frankly I am sick (really and truly sick) and tired of leaving. You sit hours on the interstate and then there is nowhere to go. For the past 6 years I have left this area for possible close hits and have actually had the experience of sitting in my car to Houston for nearly 24 hours (this is normally a 6 hour drive). Have you driven a car going 6 miles per hour for 24 hours? When my family left for Katrina we should've had a 7 hour drive to Georgia but this lasted 18 pain staking hours and the second most miserable drive of my life (my mother got sick on this trip and I had just been released 3 days prior to Katrina after having minor surgery). Frankly when Rita came, I figured if GOD really is ready to take me, he can have me. I have been extremely sick and have been hospitalized repeatedly in the past 3 months and began to have symptoms when Rita was coming. I can't drive and vomit at the same time so I figured if GOD wants me, then he had his chance. We watched the Interstate 10 as the masses evacuated from TX to LA as well as much of the people in those LA parishes (that are right next to where I am staying) and yes traffic wasn't flowing well and there wasn't anyplace to run to. God was gracious this time and we just watched a ton of wind and rain and we were all shocked when the apartment actually stood through it all. A lot of people don't leave anymore because you sit on the interstate and fall asleep while driving (I did). Your car overheats and you can't get gas or food anywhere because either it is sold out or the business owners are leaving with you (this happened in Katrina everything in MS was closed as were most businesses in AL). There are tons of other misery's that come along with the fleeing package that most can't comprehend. There are no bathrooms available, reststops are closed. Most people in my family are insulin dependent diabetics and have to eat and take insulin and it is hard to do when you've been on the road for 8 hours and haven't driven 100 miles from home. Not trying to blast you but until you've gone through it you don't have a clue.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Not trying to blast you but until you've gone through it you don't have a clue.


A few of us on here do have a clue. We may not have experience with the devestation of New Orleans...but we have been through hurricanes and evacuations and lack of power--and probably a touch of oops...we'll have to remember that for next time planning.

I am sorry for your losses.

However--the questioning of an evacuation after the fact is always out there. It happens after every hurricane event. I think it was good that people did evacuate. There is no perfect forecast. We deal with the information we have out there. Personally--I don't have the luxury of playing roulette to find the best weather guesser out there. My zone is mandatory...so when there is a call--turn or not, I pretty much don't have a choice seeing as I have two small children. We have to leave. We evacuated twice in one month last season :(. And enjoyed the wonderful lack of services that comes along with the aftermath.


Some people blasting Houston for their premature actions--I am confident that some are probably part of the goup that says New Orleans didn't act fast enough. And had they not taken the actions they did and the Cat 5 hit...the government of Texas would still be getting gripes for that.

[Miss Jasmine]

Not trying to blast you but until you've gone through it you don't have a clue.
Florida resident, here. Been there, done that, which is why I do what I do now.

I am sorry I am upsetting people with my posts. I really didn't mean to. I am upset with the media. I don't blame people for evacuating, I blame the media for not giving out all the important information.

Truth be told, I am now at the mercy of my employer since I am on our crisis response team.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Florida resident, here. Been there, done that, which is why I do what I do now.

I am sorry I am upsetting people with my posts. I really didn't mean to. I am upset with the media. I don't blame people for evacuating, I blame the media for not giving out all the important information.

Truth be told, I am now at the mercy of my employer since I am on our crisis response team.

Miss J...you have been very wise in your postings....I always look for your posts when a hurricane is on the horizon.


But the governor doesn't listen to the media--they do their own watching...and they utilize media, right. If they are listening to the media for the course of action--they've got problems.

As far as the sites you post...I don't know any forecaster who uses them officially. Who decides that NHC is the "official" track. In the past, I do recall some of the media getting into a bit of trouble for trying to do their own forecasting...and I remember for Floyd, our mandatory evacuation was at 4pm....and the networks didn't begin coverage until then. And I was long gone!!!. The mandatory evac was never lifted until the hurricane was supposed to hit and then veered....it was in effect for a couple of days.

[Miss Jasmine]

As far as the sites you post...I don't know any forecaster who uses them officially. Who decides that NHC is the "official" track. In the past, I do recall some of the media getting into a bit of trouble for trying to do their own forecasting...and I remember for Floyd, our mandatory evacuation was at 4pm....and the networks didn't begin coverage until then. And I was long gone!!!. The mandatory evac was never lifted until the hurricane was supposed to hit and then veered....it was in effect for a couple of days.
It's not an official site, just a helpful one. And yep I remember one meteorologist that was fired over Floyd. Of course he was right. :rotfl:

As far as the government officials go, you know that after Katrina they were not going to take any chances. They were going to be just as scary. Speaking of scary, I remember some people refering to Tom Terry as Scary Terry last hurricane season. :teeth: I am a Tom Sorrells girl myself. He doesn't get all worked up.

[mickeyfan2]

I am upset with the media. I don't blame people for evacuating, I blame the media for not giving out all the important information.

What did the media not release?

[Qwackertoo]

Interesting comment I heard on the news today - I believe it was either the Governor of Texas or the Mayor of HOuston:

"If you evacuate three times and save your life once , you've done the right thing." :flower:

That is the best quote I've read all day~!

Deana

[Miss Jasmine]

What did the media not release?
The media was in a Category 5 frenzy even when the NHC ITSELF had an intensity forecast showing that Rita would not make landfall as a cat 5. I am not saying that a four is much better, which the NHC was saying for the most part, then it went with the three, but there was never a chance it was going to make landfall as a Category 5. There were too many other weather factors out there.

Also with each update the NHC was moving the track more easterly because there was a northern component, but nobody was talking about that either.

I understand officials wanting to get people out, I really do, I'd rather people be safe. But what I saw was a frenzy built off of Katrina.

[mickeyfan2]

The media was in a Category 5 frenzy even when the NHC ITSELF had an intensity forecast showing that Rita would not make landfall as a cat 5. I am not saying that a four is much better, which the NHC was saying for the most part, then it went with the three, but there was never a chance it was going to make landfall as a Category 5. There were too many other weather factors out there.

Also with each update the NHC was moving the track more easterly because there was a northern component, but nobody was talking about that either.


All of this was on my media and I knew it. On Wednesday they said that it was a 5 but would probably be a 3 when it hit. They also said that it would turn N/NW. A 3 is a major hurricane and a hurricane can wobble. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Speaking of scary, I remember some people refering to Tom Terry as Scary Terry last hurricane season. :teeth: I am a Tom Sorrells girl myself. He doesn't get all worked up.

I'll watch Scary Terry any day. :teeth:

He's got the triangles. :banana:

[Miss Jasmine]

All of this was on my media and I knew it. On Wednesday they said that it was a 5 but would probably be a 3 when it hit. They also said that it would turn N/NW. A 3 is a major hurricane and a hurricane can wobble. Better to be safe than sorry.
Okay fine, I guess I missed all of that. I must have been watching some extra scary news.

Again, don't get me wrong, I am an advocate of you better be prepared if you are in the cone of doom. I just think there was some panicing goin gon and people evacuated who didn't really need to, which got in the way of people who really did need to evacuate.

Whatever, I'll be glad when Nov. 30 gets here. :banana:

Peace out.

[Miss Jasmine]

I'll watch Scary Terry any day. :teeth:

He's got the triangles. :banana:
Hey wait, I thought Tom Sorrells and Larry Mowery (and the whole channel 6 weather team) had the Triangles. Channel 9 has triangles as well??!??!! :rotfl: What does Channel 2 have??!!??!! :confused3

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hey wait, I thought Tom Sorrells and Larry Mowery (and the whole channel 6 weather team) had the Triangles. Channel 9 has triangles as well??!??!! :rotfl: What does Channel 2 have??!!??!! :confused3


Uh oh--I may have to share loyalties.

I won't comment on 2..not really a fan.

[Miss Jasmine]

Uh oh--I may have to share loyalties.

I won't comment on 2..not really a fan.
Don't worry, I am not either. ;) But we won't go there.