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In the Path.....

MEM

By MEM
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MEM Newbie

MEM

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We live about 70 miles from the projected landfall of Rita. Most everyone in the city has evacuated. The kids leave tonight. The wife leaves in the morning. I'm on the fence about staying or leaving.

 

The width of the region with 140 mph+ winds is about 140 miles. So I'm right at the edge of the danger zone. At that speed the wind rips roofs off of houses and then they implode. Below about 120 should only knock down trees, some onto roofs, and destroy the power infrastructure for two to three weeks. That includes the largest concentration of refineries in the country within a fifty mile radius.

 

Forecasts are slowing moving the storm closer to where I live. If it moves another 15 miles to the east my house will see the full force of the winds.

 

I must say, it is an eerie feeling.

 

So, if I don't post for a while everyone will know why.

 

 

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MEM Newbie

MEM

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Latest update. Rita's eye will pass right over our house. If it does it will flatten our neighborhood.

 

Needless to say I will not be here.

 

Of concern to those not in the immediate path of Rita is the damage to the oil refineries in the area. About 30% of the refinery capacity in the US is in the path of Rita's eye and storm surge. If she stays on her current path these refineries will be damage from high winds (150+) and underwater (20 foot+ storm surge). Stock up on gasoline. Gas may be cheap at $6 gallon if you can get it.

 

The best news would be if Rita continues to track to the east and this area is on the "clean" side of Rita. Stay tuned. I'll be posting from here through the day.

 

 

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MEM Newbie

MEM

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Well right now one cannot get out. All roads are gridlocked with eight to ten hours to get fifteen miles north of houston.

 

I plan to get out soon. Just not right now. The good news is the storm continues to track to the east.

 

 

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MEM Newbie

MEM

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Projected landfall is now east of the ship channel so the dirty side with the high storm surge ship occur east of the ship channel. That's good news.

 

The real disaster right now is the number of people stuck on the interstates and have run out of gas just north of houston. People have been in their cars for 12-15 hours and are just north of houston. They've run out of gas and all the gas stations are out of gas.

 

It could be houston's "superdome."

 

 

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TimeNot_0 Newbie

TimeNot_0

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Try old dirt roads, as those may not be traveled instead of main highways. Surely a map exists of County Roads, and most of the time, they also lead to a place where one can then get to the highway, or a better road. County Maps should be available. Expect people to be somewhat stupid as to how to leave a city following the norm.

 

A Formal Evacuation should have taken place, with specific instructions as to which route to take depending on where in the area you were.

 

If something like that happened here, I would never ever take the highways out of town. Better to have a dirty dusty vehicle then be in the pack of insanity on a highway!

 

 

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MEM Newbie

MEM

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A Formal Evacuation should have taken place, with specific instructions as to which route to take depending on where in the area you were.

It did. I'm in a mandatory evacuation area. I will leave if it hits as a category 5 or the eye of a four passes near me. Otherwise I'm staying.

If she stays on her current course I should see 80-100 mph winds. I'm far enough away from the gulf/bay so that storm surge is not really an issue.

 

If I have to leave because the storm tracks more westerly I can get to my wife and kids at my in-laws in about forty minutes. There is no traffic between where I am and there.

 

 

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TimeNot_0 Newbie

TimeNot_0

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Well, I should not say 'insanity' being a harsh, but still it seems to be going well, but then again perhaps not! Just checked the BBC, and now it is going E of Houston but close, but still the path may change again, depending. If it was not swirling type winds perhaps it would not do as much damage, but being around tornados also down there, that could also be a major concern. I seen dust devils in Texas (little swirling like very small 6 foot high tornado) but spawning of tornados (as I heard it may be tornado alley down there) may make a difference also. One wonders why the traffic moves so slow on a major highway though, even if letting in cars. I bet some people are really fustrated on that highway, and I hope they all make it!

 

Some don't even want to leave Houston according to the BBC. I still would almost make a road if I had to. Not because of anything else, but the pavement is only pavement, and vehicles breaking down and anything else will not help.

 

The BBC also said the line of vehicles was something like 93 miles long!

 

 

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MEM Newbie

MEM

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The BBC also said the line of vehicles was something like 93 miles long!

The current disaster is the number of people stuck on the interstates going out of town. Travel times in excess of 15 hours to go 15 miles is common. Most of the people you see on the interstates have been on the road for 30+ hours and are running out of gas. They started out with a full tank but after spending 24 hours in traffic the ran out of gas. All the gas stations are out of gas. They are trying to figure out what to do for these people on the side of the road. There are hundreds if not thousands stranded on the side of the road with no gas.

Rita is projected to land east of here. Expecting winds of 80-100 mph. I live in a new well-built home that will stand up well to these winds.

 

The weather is eerily quiet.

 

 

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roorichard Newbie

roorichard

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I couldn't even imagine sitting in my car for that long and then running out of gas because of it. But def. find some back dirt roads if you decide to evacuate, don't try your luck on the highways. Microsoft MapPoint works pretty well with locating all the back roads and such, but i'm sure your quite educated with the back roads since you are a resident there. My prayers go out to everyone in Texas/Louisiana, good luck and stay safe..

 

 

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MEM Newbie

MEM

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I have three locations in town I can evacuate to if I need to.

 

I can make it to any of those places in twenty-five to forty-five minutes, depending on the location. All the traffic jams are now well north and west of houston.

 

The problem will be those locations east of Beaumont/Port Arthur that includes Lake Charles. They will see winds of 120 - 130 mph and 15+ feet storm surge. They did not have the luxury of a two to three day evacuation plan. In really was not until around 2:00 PM CST yesterday that it became a possibility that the storm would make landfall that far east.

 

 

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RenUnconscious Newbie

RenUnconscious

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MEM,

 

My speculation is because of the vast resources the complex has, you can be plugged into practically every government agency from norad. Not to mention the live satellite feeds coming into the complex. I've been there, place is huge. Probably a better place to be in times of disaster than the white house, the president could order things and watch them carried out in real time. Not that the white house doesn't have certain capabalities right? but Norad is like the extreme when it comes to intelligence.

 

personally I would think a real president would stay in his home state when a disaster happens. but thats just me.

 

 

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TimeNot_0 Newbie

TimeNot_0

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According to the latest news from Fox, he is there to monitor Hurricane Rita from US Northern Command and Colorado Springs, and determine if the military should play a larger role for such diseasters (maybe even tracking the storm), later on I think he is suppose to fly to Texas.

 

Latest Fox News Headlines over on right side where levee broke in New Orleans underneath!

 

Hourly update from Fox News!

 

http://www.foxnews.com/

 

Look for hourly update video!

 

Live coverage all weekend long!

 

http://www.foxnews.com/fnctv/

 

From BBC:

 

spacer.png

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4276284.stm

 

More from Fox News:

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,94803,00.html

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

We want to hear from you! E-mail us at [email redacted] and our hosts can take your calls live at: 1-888-TELL-FOX.

 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<

 

Hurricane Rita is Category 4 now (135miles/hr), about 220 miles SE of Galveston expected to hit new Port Arthur as a Category 3 storm tomorrow morning with a storm surge of 15-20feet.

 

Coast guard helicopter is flying over New Orleans now looking at the breach and now also a breach also on the western side of the wall!

 

Satellite image from BBC:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4276028.stm

 

Opens when clicking on picture -- big storm!

 

Other news:

 

New Orleans - the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina several weeks ago - is again under a mandatory evacuation.

 

Some surfers are riding huge waves in the Gulf Coast!

 

 

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TimeNot_0 Newbie

TimeNot_0

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Fox News:

 

Fast Facts: How to Prepare

 

Thursday, September 22, 2005

 

LINKS

 

National Hurricane Center •National Hurricane Center

 

The National Hurricane Center (search) lists the following preparedness tips:

 

—Securely fasten impact-resistant shutters over all large windows and glass doors. Shutters can be made from metal or plywood.

 

—Discuss the type of hazards that could affect your family. Know your home's vulnerability to storm surge, flooding and wind.

 

—Locate the safest areas in your home or community for each hurricane hazard.

 

—Post emergency telephone numbers by your phones and make sure your children know how and when to call 911.

 

—Stock nonperishable emergency supplies and a disaster supply kit, containing water, food, first-aid supplies, cashly covered by homeowners insurance.

 

 

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RainmanTime Newbie

RainmanTime

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Current conditions: 50 mph wind gusts. Peak winds should hit in six to seven hours at about 100 mph.

You need other things to keep your mind off the danger, MEM. :) So here's some fun facts to think about:Let's say you had a wind turbine on your property with a propellor diameter of 5 feet down there where you are just about at sea level. At a steady 50 mph wind you could be generating (ideally) about 12.5 KWatts of power! What is even more amazing, is if this turbine was designed to operate in greater than 100 mph winds, at that windspeed it could generate an ideal power of about 100 KWatts! If you applied "economies of scale" to this with 1000 of these wind turbines, those numbers go up to 12.5 and 100 MWatts, respectively. Sure the power generation doesn't last for a long period of time, like a powerplant, or solar energy. By comparison, the generators at Hoover Dam can generate 225 MWatts continuously, and it serves a helluva lots of loads in the US Southwest.

But hurricanes aren't going to go away. We could either tap into their energy, or just be subject to all their destructive power without getting anything but damage out of it.

 

Whaddya think?

 

RMT

 

 

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