Galveston is taking no chances with Rita. Louisianans may have forgot about 1969's Camille, but the storm of 1900 is yesterday as far as Galvestonians are concerned. If there's no change in Rita's track soon, there's a mandatory evacuation of Galveston and Brazoria counties beginning at 6:00 tonight.
Some folks find school buses quite handy for evacuating a city.
Some folks don't.
UPDATE
Matagorda County, Texas has no sense of humor -- you try to keep your kids in a mandatory evacuation zone, they'll take your kids and put you in jail; and Galveston is being smart all the way around:
Taking a lesson from Hurricane Katrina, where many didn't leave because they couldn't take their pets, the buses leaving Galveston will accommodate cats and dogs.
UPDATE II
Cat 5. Time to hit the brakes, Rita.
UPDATE
I'm liking this map for helping me to keep these Texas counties straight.
Speaking of maps:
I pray this storm weakens.
Posted by floridacracker at September 21, 2005 07:11 AMRight on. That's the way to run a city.
Posted by: Chris at September 21, 2005 02:37 PMSpent many a summer on Matagorda's beaches. Those are nice, down to earth folks that don't take any crap.
Thank goodness.
My sister-in-law in Houston can't find any water or peanut butter... OR evacuate, because the roads are totally clogged. I told her to wait until everyone else gets out, then go... I45 northbound is like I10 was for people escaping Louisiana.
Posted by: pam at September 21, 2005 04:37 PMMy sister in Houston e-mailed the same thing, pam, but also that they didn't bother to take out flood insurance on their new home because it was "higher" than the old one in Clear Lake. :-(
Posted by: Salt Lick at September 21, 2005 05:54 PMI hope y'all's families run fast and far. I hate it when hurricanes start barreling like this.
From what I've been reading, the preparations and evacuations have been going well.
How're the rotties, Pam?
Posted by: Donnah at September 21, 2005 09:21 PMI respect what Metagorda County, TX is doing. My ongoing and original issues about mostly New Orleans is that the need to rescue so many who opted to remain in storm's way, for whatever reason, caused the greatest problem of recovery: just look at the huge, human toll in lives and suffering (to mention expense and risks for everyone else, still underway there) that resulted.
Some people will always have a reason to disregard the most sense as to safety (no surprise there) but governments, if they're good for anything, should be (and Metagorda is) looking out for "society" as a greater good at times like these.
Again and again we see the huge differences in quality of life between Louisiana and Texas/Alabama. Our country needs to stop allowing locales to "build" concentrated poverty/poor housing areas, even in the free market...because it's always these locales who suffer the worst and cause the worst suffering for others at times of troubles. Since poverty will always be with us/the country, we have take some steps to prevent more concentrated areas of poverty-households all together because they do two things: confirm poverty among themselves (discouraging change) and cause greater suffering for others (by not allowing change in accommodating crises).
Posted by: -S- at September 22, 2005 03:48 PMWe were talking about that yesterday, S. Texans aren't going to lie back and go "Waah. Help me, world."
The governor of Alabama said it's just fine if they get no press, because Alabamans are busy getting on with things.