Ill keep you in my prayers as well. The way it looks, Rita will intensify once she hits those warm Gulf waters. Most likely Cat 4 if not a Cat 5.Definitely nothing to play with. What are they doing with all the evacuees that are in Houston?

My understanding is that they are going to "ship" most of them to Arkansas. I haven't heard much on how or when.

I have some friends in Houston and one in particular that pastors Iglesisa Bautista Hosanna in the inner city. They sent me pictures several years ago of the effects of a hurricane that flooded their neighborhood. It looked pretty bad... hopefully that won't happen again this time.

Given the relief debacle during Katrina, and the fact that Texas is a BIG RED STATE, I'm hoping that DHS and FEMA will handle this pending hurricane better. Looks like local authorities are more on the ball this time....let's hope for better preparedness at the federa level.

As a fellow Texan (Dallas), my thoughts are with my coastal bretheren.

Whats the over/under that if Bush acts quickly on getting aid there that some will claim that since it is a Republican state and Bush's home state that will be why he reacted more quickly. Truth be told, if he allows this to get screwed up, this his credibility and term are essentially over. Wait..did I just defend Bush? Ecckkk. Think it will take Bush 7 days to fly to Texas to survey the damage?

Hopefully everyone in this storms path heeds the warning and gets out while they still can. Better to be safe and leave than to stay and be sorry regardless if it hits or not.

Leave. Good luck and God speed.

I evacuated from Ivan (125+mph at my house), and reluctantly stayed for Dennis (115 mph at my house) and stayed for Katrina (60 mph at my house). If Katrina hit near my house, which is 300 ft from the water, I would have nothing left. My house survived Opal in 1995 with 144+ mph winds, but the water is what will do you in.

If you can't take your PCs with you (don't mess with monitors, heavy wire cutters work if you are in a rush), use external hard drive to back up your data and take with you. If you have a few extra minutes, remove and mark the hard drives and take with you. Take your CD/DVD backups (mine are still in a Rubbermaid bin to throw in the truck). Also your important (insurance/identification) papers, family pictures (some of mine date to 1862).

I'm beginning to rethink this coastal living.

Dave

Edited: One more thought: Hattiesburg, Mississippi was very torn up from Katrina. Hurricanes go very far inland, so be careful!

I was in Galveston when Alicia hit ('83 I think), it was fab. Don't run, stay with the camera pointed at the tiny wood houses on stilts, then take refuge in the Hotel Galvez bar.

For Alicia I was in the Flagship bar (which for you who do not knoe Galveston is in the Flagship Hotel that is built on a pier jutting out into the Gulf) and the windows got smashed in.

Dave - you're one old son of a gun (1862!?!?!?) didn't even know that there was DV that far back :)

I'm guessing you mean 1962 :)

Dave

"family pictures (some of mine date to 1862)."

Family Pics. Pictures of my great grandfather in his Civil War uniform (I think they are copies of an old tintype) . He was a Union scout and was a scout with Buffalo Bill working on the railroads after the war. He married a fine Indian maiden, where I get my perseverance <g> (and interest in Spot's music). Also several other pics from 1880s.

So I meant 1862, not 1962. Some things cannot be replaced.

Dave

Good luck Dave. We'll be praying for you and all the others in the wake of this storm.

~jr

I believe Bush's home state is actually Connecticut, if "home state" refers to where he was born.

Home State referring to where he was Govenor.

Good luck down there.

It won't do any good now, but for fun your might check the fine print on your homeowner's insurance policy before you conclude whether or not you're "well insured". After hurricane Isabel hit us in Virginia, many of us were suprised to find new small print in our policies that basically increased the policy deductable level when damaged occured during a significant and wide-spread storm. My normal deducatable was $500, but for Isabel it became 5% of the insured value of the house and contents. In many cases, the 5% of "house and contents" deducatable can be one heck of a lot bigger than the usual deductable.

Well drmathprog, you're just full of good news and joy today, aren't you? :)

That's interesting. We have the policies with us and will check that out.

Made it to San Antonio in about 12 hours, and I thought we were leaving plenty early enough to avoid a trip like that (should have taken about 4). But, we're here and safe. I also did take all my cpu's with us. I did not, however, take any musical gear. I guess I really am retired.

You go through some stages of denial and acceptance during a 12 hour drive. We're pretty much accepting there may be nothing left when we get back. However...you never know. They just updated the report to say it's trending eastward, back towards New Orleans.

Anyway...as someone who is going through this from the inside, I gotta say that an evacuation / rescue / recovery plan absolutely starts with local officials and media outlets. Our local mayors and officials have mandated evacuation, have said don't mess around, and that if you stay you WILL NOT receive aid until it's safe for the workers.

Then it goes to the state level. THEN to the federal level.

It has little to do with the President not acting fast enough. It has everything to do with local participation and action, starting with the residents. Our local government provided probably hundreds of buses to get folks out. I personally saw dozens at a time. If you don't have that, and residents cannot evacuate, then it's going to expose problems that exist - and do so in such a way that only a tragedy could. And then, if we have responsible government (again, starting at the LOCAL level), you work on fixing it. From all reports I've heard, Louisiana and N.O. government is more corrupt than usual. What I can say for sure is that it appears that our local south Texas governing bodies have done a great job of managing this long before the storm hits.

Thanks for the kind words and prayers. ....anxiously watching and waiting in San Antonio...

David

Sort of OT but not really - might want to watch this clip from someone who evacuated hereself and adied a lot of others. She talks about the shooting and looting...iunteresting first hand voice from all of this. Clip is about 6 minutes long, should open up Windows Media Player and stream.

Charmaine Neville

filmy, that's a powerful account of what it was like to be in such a horrible situation. One thing is certain, that lady channeled fear into action, but is now suffering terrible post-traumatic stress. I hope she will be okay.