Rita grows into monster Category 5 hurricane

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Late Wednesday, Rita was centered about 570 miles east-southeast of Galveston and was moving west near 9 mph. Forecasters predicted it would come ashore along the central Texas coast between Galveston and Corpus Christi. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 70 miles from the center of the storm.

But with its breathtaking size — tropical storm-force winds extending 370 miles across — practically the entire western end of the U.S. Gulf Coast was in peril, and even a slight rightward turn could prove devastating to the fractured levees protecting New Orleans.

In the Galveston-Houston-Corpus Christi area, about 1.3 million people were under orders to get out, in addition to 20,000 or more along with the Louisiana coast. Special attention was given to hospitals and nursing homes, three weeks after scores of sick and elderly patients in the New Orleans area drowned in Katrina's floodwaters or died in the stifling heat while waiting to be rescued.

Military personnel in South Texas started moving north, too. Schools, businesses and universities were also shut down. Some sporting events were canceled.

Galveston was a virtual ghost town by mid-afternoon Wednesday. In neighborhoods throughout the island city, the few people left were packing the last of their valuables and getting ready to head north.

Click here for the rest.

I'm starting to get sick of this shit.

If I understand the science here correctly, global warming isn't behind the number of hurricanes created in the Atlantic, but it is behind the supercharging of them into monster storms--apparently, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico are the direct result of greenhouse gasses heating our planet's atmosphere; this, in turn, creates the perfect environment for incubating small hurricanes into massive hurricanes. Remember, Rita was barely a category one storm as it passed the Florida Keys. Now it's really, really dangerous, and it stands to beat the crap out of my hometown, Houston.

Thanks a lot, fossil fuels. Yes, they keep our economy humming, but in the long run, they're destroying it, too. This is no longer something that's fucking over our grandchildren: this is fucking over us.

And - this is just so fucking typical - the man whose empassioned and logical rhetoric convinced me to flee Baton Rouge as Katrina was coming to Louisiana, my father, wants to stay in Houston!!! I'm beginning to think I'll never understand my old man. He's really stubborn, too, and the rest of the family has given up trying to convince him to leave--fortunately, my Mom's headed to Austin tomorrow morning, to take refuge with my older brother, Chris. That has me a bit worried, too, because the latest projections have Rita making landfall in Victoria, and then making a bee-line north to Texas' capitol city, but one hopes it will be decidedly weaker by the time it starts pounding the home of the Texas Longhorns.

At any rate, I decided not to speak with my Dad personally about this, because I'm afraid it would just piss him off. But he can't yell at an email. Here's what I sent him:

Dear Dad,

I understand that you've made up your mind about staying, so I'll be brief. As I'm sure you're aware, Rita is more powerful than Katrina was, and may very well maintain it's category 5 status when it makes landfall. It is ironic, indeed, that I now find myself compelled to make the same appeal to you that you made to me only a few short weeks ago.

I remember how you began your argument: "I have never run from a hurricane before, but..." Your reasoning was impeccable. You freely acknowledged that Katrina was probably not going to be a big factor in Baton Rouge, but you also observed that hurricanes often seem to have minds of their own, and it was in the realm of possiblity that we could have been directly hit. If we stayed and nothing happened, then fine. But if we stayed and Katrina hit, as unlikely as it seemed at the time, we could have been in serious trouble. Your logic was so compelling that I had absolutely no difficulty in deciding to hit the road, as much of a hassle as it was to do so.

You are now in exactly the same situation I was in when you called me with your passionate plea. Actually, your situation may even be more acute. I'm afraid you may be endangering your own life.

I understand your desire to stay and look after your home--you've put a lot of money, effort, and time into it. Decades, in fact. I don't need to tell you, however, that houses can be rebuilt, and possessions can be replaced. Human life cannot. Consequently, I very respectfully ask you to reconsider your decision not to evacuate.

Whatever you finally decide to do, please remember that I love you and you are in my prayers.

your son,
Ron

I hope this does some good. Man, even if my email is able to talk some sense into the old man, there's still the issue of my younger brother, Steve. He, like my father did for decades, works for Southwestern Bell, and is required to stay and work. After all, communications are a vital service; he's essentially in the category of "emergency personnel." This is going to be one hell of a nail-biter. Send your good vibes out to Texas, if you believe in that sort of thing.

At least I know the Feds will do their job this time around: Houston is where our President's father lives, too. I'm sure W's old man had enough horse sense to get the hell out.



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