<p>“The latest recon report indicated the pressure in Rita has fallen to 920 mb and the maximum flight level winds were over 175 mph. AccuWeather.com Meteorologist believe Rita has become a Cat 5 hurricane.”</p>
<p><a href=“http://home.accuweather.com/index.asp?partner=accuweather[/url]”>http://home.accuweather.com/index.asp?partner=accuweather</a></p>
<p>How long until we hear the favorite moniker of the evacuees…Katritans.</p>
<p>They’ll surely waive on being referred to thusly…</p>
<p>Well I say if the storm causes even moderate damage the news broadcasters and print press will have to develop some mutant name they will never be able to use both names…i mean this problem of repair is going to be around for some extended period of time.</p>
<p>Uhhh… my parents live in Sugar Land.</p>
<p>I have noticed an uptick in the preparations and response from both the government and the community. Is it required? I am not sure just yet. My initial sense is that there will be a lot of damage but not as many fatalities, i.e. the difference between New Orleans and Mississippi. I expect the impact on Texas will be more like Mississippi.</p>
<p>Now, if the storm veers off toward New Orleans all bets are off. I would expect the damage to be worse than the first time. However, people appear to be getting out of harms way.</p>
<p>Eagle - if we had not had NOLA to distract us, MS alone would have one of the highest death tolls, maybe the highest since Camille (I know there was one tropical system that went up the East Coast, and caused a lot of inland flooding and deaths because people were caught unawares) - I think there may have been only one or 2 triple digit death tolls since Camille. We would have had maybe half the deaths or less in MS if people had not stayed. People are leaving now. Also I think the uptick is because the first track took it straight through the most populous area and the most vulernable area on the TX coast - their evacuation plan requires days to take place, and people are actually heeding the warnings.</p>
<p>Fortunately for the whole country, it looks as if it may go south and miss more of the precious oil resources - we will all be in deep do-do if it takes out those big TX refineries around Port Arthur and Houston.</p>
<p>My fear though is what you are alluding to - there is a big mass evacuation that comes to little because the storm goes further south or weakens (likely) before landfall - then next time people won’t leave, that is the continual fear.</p>
<p>I know where my SIL lives, between Galveston and Houston, it looks a lot like those remote areas in SE LA - St. Bernards, that were almost wiped clean, it is at sea level, water on 2 sides, and heavily populated, much more than SE LA.</p>