Tracking Rita
5:45 p.m. EDT: Forecasters predict an 18-to-29-foot storm surge along the Texas and Louisiana coasts.
5:23 p.m. EDT: The Houston Chronicle reports that evacuation routes, clogged for two days by fleeing residents, were clear by this afternoon. Emergency officials urged those who remained to find shelter and stay put. "People need to be hunkered down," said Frank Gutierrez, coordinator for Harris County Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Evacuees should not return home until they hear official word.
5:19 p.m. EDT: The Dallas Morning News reports that the state is asking healthcare professionals to volunteer in anticipation of Hurricane Rita. According to the report, Eduardo Sanchez, commissioner of the Department of State Health Services, said volunteers should be ready to "self-sustain" for up to three days.
5 p.m. EDT: The National Hurricane Center forecasts Hurricane Rita to make landfall at daybreak Saturday as a strong Category 3 storm. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for metropolitan New Orleans as the storm bears down on the Louisiana-Texas border. Rita has picked up some speed, from 9 to 12 mph, as it chugs toward Port Arthur, Texas—now only 140 miles away. Some fluctuations in intensity are possible before hitting land.
4:34 p.m. EDT: After President Bush scrapped his plan to stop by the FEMA staging grounds in San Antonio, Air Force One lifts off from Andrews Air Force Base to take him straight to Northern Command in Colorado Springs.
4:20 p.m. EDT: Appearing with Harris County Judge Bob Eckels and Houston Mayor Bill White, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay says authorities have learned valuable lessons from Hurricane Katrina, most importantly that local authorities respond first in a time of crisis. DeLay urged victims of the storm to remember that in the aftermath of Rita. "If you're in trouble and you need help, reach out to local authorities," DeLay said. Finishing his remarks, DeLay said, "We are ready for this storm."
4 p.m. EDT: A little more than a week after officially reopening in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is crippled by flight cancellations in anticipation of Hurricane Rita. Northwest Airlines canceled all flights after 1:30 p.m. CDT today; Delta canceled all flights after 4 p.m. CDT today; Continental and Southwest airlines canceled all flights for today and tomorrow.
3:47 p.m. EDT: Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue announces his state will close all public schools Monday and Tuesday to save fuel. Many pipelines and refineries in the Gulf Coast have been shut down, restricted, or damaged by hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
3:43 p.m. EDT: At a FEMA briefing, Brig. Gen. William Grisoli of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the troubled New Orleans levee system is "disappointing for the corps but not unexpected." He says higher-than-expected waters have overtopped both the east bank of the levee and the west bank. The west bank is also experiencing seepage.
3:40 p.m. EDT: In Baton Rouge, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco warns residents that Rita remains a "very dangerous storm" despite weakening to a Category 3. Referencing the burst levee in New Orleans, Blanco says, "We've already seen what the edges of this storm can do in a few hours." Echoing Texas officials, Blanco says it's too late for lingering residents to evacuate now and that they should seek shelter from floodwaters in tall buildings. State and national troops, now dubbed "Task Force Rita," have been prepositioned at the edges of the storm track.
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