Hurricane Rita: Open Thread 5
Charles Johnson
Sat Sep 24, 2005 at 5:47 pm PDT • Views: 221
Here’s another open thread for Hurricane Rita discussions, as the storm turns out to be less devastating than feared: 3M Rita Evacuees Urged to Delay Return.
BEAUMONT, Texas - Hurricane Rita pummeled east Texas and the Louisiana coast Saturday, triggering floods and demolishing buildings, yet the dominant reaction was relief that the once-dreaded storm proved far less fierce and deadly than Katrina. Authorities pleaded with the roughly 3 million evacuees not to hurry home too soon, fearing more chaos.
“Be patient, stay put,” said Texas Gov. Rick Perry. “If you are in a safe place with food, water, bedding, you are better remaining there for the time being.”
In any other hurricane season, Rita might have seemed devastating. It knocked out power for more than 1 million customers, sparked fires across the hurricane zone and swamped Louisiana shoreline towns with a 15-foot storm surge that required daring boat and helicopter rescues of hundreds of people.
But the new storm came in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with its 1,000-plus death toll, cataclysmic flooding of New Orleans and staggering destruction in Mississippi. By contrast, Rita spared Houston, New Orleans and other major cities a direct hit, and by mid-afternoon Saturday federal officials said they knew of no storm-related fatalities.
Frank says: