Tracking Rita
1:20 p.m EDT: The estimated number of evacuees jumps from 1.3 million to 1.8 million. The Houston Chronicle reports that the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority will shut down bus service at 2 p.m. CDT. Train service will continue until 9 p.m. CDT.
1 p.m. EDT: Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, speaking from Baton Rouge, La.: "I cannot say this strongly enough. Rita will hit Louisiana." Blanco again urges residents, particularly those in low-lying coastal areas, to "evacuate now." Advising people to plan carefully, Blanco reminds people to pack with care and be sure to include any necessary medications.
In Houston, Mayor Bill White gives a simultaneous news conference. Regional airports are experiencing major delays because of the failure of TSA personnel to show up for work. Those without reservations should not go to the airport, White says, as they will be unable to evacuate via plane. Those with reservations will still experience delays of up to four hours. Those in acute care "should not drive up to hospital doors," White says. People in need of medical attention should work through the Emergency Management System.
12:50 p.m. EDT: Texas Gov. Rick Perry asks drivers to exercise patience as he announces fuel trucks are being positioned along evacuation routes. "We'll get fuel to those who are low or out" of gas. The region is experiencing "gridlock even monumental by Houston standards." Perry has also requested 10,000 federal troops from President Bush to be prepositioned in the region. The troops will join 5,000 members of the National Guard. The White House has announced that the president will visit Texas on Friday.
12:37 p.m. EDT: A broken-down car on a service road to Interstate 45 hobbles traffic out of Houston, which has been at a near standstill since the early-morning hours. Across the region, drivers are losing their patience as breakdowns are coupled with vehicles running out of gas as they crawl along evacuation routes.
Noon EDT: Speaking from the Pentagon about the war on terrorism, President Bush addressed the mounting threat of Hurricane Rita. "Officials of every level of government are prepared for the worst."
By noon, the outer bands of Rita have reached New Orleans, bringing wind and rain. With a forecast of 3 to 5 inches of rainfall and a possible 5-foot storm surge, fears are raised anew that the already compromised levee system could fail again. Officials estimate that 10 percent of New Orleans is still underwater from Hurricane Katrina. The state of Texas orders the reversal of southbound lanes on Interstate 45 out of Houston to facilitate the flow of traffic northward. An estimated 1.3 million people are fleeing Texas and Louisiana under mandatory evacuation orders. Meanwhile, Rita continues to take its toll on the national economy, in midday trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.66, or 0.12 percent, to 10,365.37. The Nasdaq dropped 9.92 to 2096.72, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index also fell 2.92 to 1207.28.
11:15 a.m. EDT: Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco urges coastal Louisiana residents to evacuate their homes. "Do all that you can to protect your family." Residents are advised to flee north, avoiding Texas and other areas in the possible path of the storm. Buses are mobilizing in New Orleans, where merchants have been doing brisk business selling food and relief supplies to locals planning to ride out the storm, despite a mandatory evacuation. Blanco also announces that thousands of National Guard troops from Louisiana and across the country will be waiting at the fringe of the storm's expected path to provide immediate assistance to victims. With interstates in southern Louisiana and Texas already jammed with evacuees, many of whom have run out of gas because of the traffic delays, Blanco urges residents to avoid major roadways and to be resourceful.
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