Hurricane Rita thread

[kato]

Rita is now expected to hit the Texas coast this weekend....

My BF has been preparing for a couple months now. I've just been looking at him and shaking my head. I never worry about storms. But we are way overdue for a doozie. Even though TS Allison did alot of damage we haven't had a major hurriane since Alicia in 82 I think or 83.

 

[Gabby]

Hurricanes throw multiple tornadoes once they move inland. Twisters spawned by Katrina effectively devastated much of Hattiesburg, MS.

I have close friends that lived outside of Hattiesburg.... they had a lot of trees down, no power for 10 days, but they said Hattiesburg itself was hit pretty hard

 

[poco]

Map of Texas ---

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/nytmaps.pl?texas

Projected path --

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/084912.shtml?5day

 

[kato]

OMG, that's right - all those poor people from New Orleans & La might get blasted again on the Texas coast. Unbelievable.

Can this one do as much damage to the Texas Coast as it did to NO - not so much in terms of winds, but in water damage? I know Galveston has sea walls, but are there levees in any of those areas that could possibly break?

I'm on the West Coast of Florida and don't feel out of the woods yet. These things have a tendency to turn if they feel like it. All of the gulf coast should be on guard!!!

I won't say positively but I don't think there would be as much damage just because we are so much more prepared. I'm not trying to minimize how much damage there will or could be.

 

[Shadow205]

Rita is a hurricane now. Just upgraded.

 

[Maral]

I won't say positively but I don't think there would be as much damage just because we are so much more prepared. I'm not trying to minimize how much damage there will or could be.

Models show 'massive devastation' in Houston

Engineers recently modeled more than 100 Houston-area storms of varying power, speed and landfall. They concluded that a large Category 4 or Category 5 -- a storm only moderately larger than the four that struck Florida last summer -- would cause as much as $40 billion to $50 billion in damage. That's 10 times the cost of Tropical Storm Allison. Full Story

 

[poco]

If this thing hits where they have it projected to hit, I don't think Bryan College/Station will be all that safe either as far as winds go - it isn't that far inland. I think I'd get it my car and start driving and not stop until I saw the Pacific.

 

[kato]

Galveston may issue evacuation orders as early as this afternoon. Busses driving up and down the seawall. Gov. Perry will issue a statement to Texas later today.

 

[kato]

If this thing hits where they have it projected to hit, I don't think Bryan College/Station will be all that safe either as far as winds go - it isn't that far inland. I think I'd get it my car and start driving and not stop until I saw the Pacific.

You're right poco, B/CS is not that far away maybe 1 1/2 hours depending which way and which part of Houston you start from.

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

Thanks so much!!! I'm close to the Austin area and was just curious how far these storms (winds mainly) could come inland! While I'm sure we'll ride it out, this storm has caught my eye. We are use to tornados of course, but they typically don't hit in our area. The high winds do concern me though!

I'm very glad you asked, Sassy...as I'm in the Waco area, and it's showing part of the "cone" up as far as us. I figured that's maybe some wind/rain...but it's my understanding that tornadoes are a real concern after a hurricane makes landfall, sooooo......

DPS is already putting Troopers on Rita assignments (schedules already published, on stand-by) ready to rock and roll.

 

[kato]

They are moving the remaining evacuees from Reliant Ctr. to a planes that will be taking them to Ft. Chafee, Ark..

 

[kato]

Galveston calling for voluntary evacuation to day. Will decide tomorrow whether or not to call for a mandatory evacuation.

 

[kgeaux]

Hmm. A friend just called me and said that she thinks she heard the Weather Channel mention Lafayette, LA. as being possibly hit By Rita. I've been cleaning house and not watching TV. Anybody else hear this?

 

[kato]

I haven't heard that specifically yet but the radar shows it would probably get rains from the outer bands.

 

[concernedperson]

Hmm. A friend just called me and said that she thinks she heard the Weather Channel mention Lafayette, LA. as being possibly hit By Rita. I've been cleaning house and not watching TV. Anybody else hear this?

There was a model yesterday hitting Terrebonne Parish and a northerly route but I haven't heard anything today about it.

 

[kato]

Storm has been moved up from hitting early Sat. morning til Fri.. I'm getting all this cuz I'm watching the local news.

 

[kato]

Plywood is out for the most part but more is on the way says a Home Depot spokesperson.

 

[poco]

Plywood is out for the most part but more is on the way says a Home Depot spokesperson.

I sometimes really wonder what good plywood does, except there is more debris to blow around. I am sure it might save some windows in a few homes when it comes down to it, but all in all, is it really worth it.

 

[kato]

I sometimes really wonder what good plywood does, except there is more debris to blow around. I am sure it might save some windows in a few homes when it comes down to it, but all in all, is it really worth it.

It seems quite flimsy to me.

 

[BarnGoddess]

Plywood is fine as long as it's anchored properly. My dad made our shutters and they lasted for years. For those of you who want to do it yourself, cut corregated aluminum sheets to fit inside your windows. On the outside of the windows drill holes and fit them with sturdy anchors. Use 2 x 4's bolted to the metal and extended to the holes drilled with anchors. Bolt into the ends of the 2 x 4's with wing nut bolts and washers. You should have at least 2 boards, top and bottom to secure your windows. They worked for us for many years in Florida. Use the plywood with 2 x 4's also if you can't get the aluminum.