The Buses Are Ready

As another hurricane heads for the Gulf Coast, the towns in its path have been learning from New Orleans:

With Hurricane Rita speeding up, Galveston has moved up its timeline to prepare for Hurricane Rita….

City buses will begin carrying residents who do not have transportation off the island at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The buses will leave from the Island Community Center at 4700 Broadway….About 800 residents have made reservations so far and [City Manager Steve] LeBlanc said the buses have the capacity to get 2,300 people off the island. Houston Metro buses are available if more are needed.

My informant on the ground -- a.k.a. my mom -- tells me that everyone's been taking the storm very seriously. She also told me last week that a lot of people in Galveston have been taking in Katrina refugees. I can imagine how they feel about having to evacuate all over again.

Comments

[Hakluyt]

Jesse Walker,

I return the same wishes of safety you did to my parents.

[jaybird]

It's all a plot!

http://www.weatherwars.info/katrina.htm

[Tom Crick]

I don't know what's more shocking...

...the thought that people in government might learn from their mistakes or the thought that Walker might be from Texas!

[Jesse Walker]

Thanks, Haklyut. I actually grew up in North Carolina, Tom, but my parents have lived in Galveston since 1987.

[Hakluyt]

Jesse Walker,

The triangle area or elsewhere?

[Jesse Walker]

The Triangle.

[Kris]

I just spent a couple of weeks in the triangle area last month. Nice place. My wife really wants to move there, but I'm hesitant to pack up and move to the other side of the country. I did like th NC barbeque though!

[Hakluyt]

Kris,

We just moved there mid-August.

[mediageek]

..the thought that people in government might learn from their mistakes or the thought that Walker might be from Texas!

[stubby]

Here in Houston, we can't decide what we'll do. Stay on 3, leave on 4? I've never been in the path of a 3, much less a 4, and even if it does hit Matagorda instead of Galveston, if it's a 4 it's going to be ugly.

[Hakluyt]

stubby,

I know its fairly terrible to write this, but I hope it hits Texas as opposed to NOLA, etc.

[Isaac Bartram]

stubby

If you are on low ground or within 20 mile of the coast you would be well advised to leave.

If you're high and dry and far enough inland that the storm has lost some of its punch you might be OK (if your house is sturdy enough). Be prepared to be without power and safe tap water for up to two weeks though.

Here in Orlando we got three storms in six weeks last year. It was a constant cleanup, prepare for the next one. Believe me we take them seriously.

[Isaac Bartram]

Hakluyt

Texas is certainly more able to take the hit. A second hit on NO or the Mississipi and Alabama coasts would be an utter disaster.

[Jesse Walker]

They've declared a mandatory evacuation in Galveston. Looks like deja vu all over again for the displaced Louisianans.

[Eric the .5b]

There's one thing to take a storm seriously, and another to start getting jumpy because New Orleans got inundated. I have a suspicion things are starting to shade toward the latter.

[Jennifer]

My ideal wish is that this hurricane somehow dissipate out in the Gulf, but wouldn't it be better for it to hit New Orleans again, rather than Texas? By which I mean, better to hit a city that's already been trashed and needs cleaning and rebuilding, than to hit a fresh city and add that much more space to the disaster zone. Not to mention adding that many more homeless (and newly unemployed) refugees for charities and the government to have to deal with.

[Jennifer]

Whoops. I didn't mean to say "refugees." What are they again--temporarily displaced persons? People in transition? Whatever.

[Ammonium]

It seems to me that there's a lot of overreacting here. There's been a lot of talk about evacuating Houston... there are certainly areas close to the bay that need to be evacuated, but Houston as a whole? Downtown Houston is about 50 miles from the Gulf and sitting about 50 feet above sea level.

Houston schools are going to be closed and the mayor is asking businesses to let their employees stay home. When I lived in Houston, there was never any fuss over tropical threats. Even when Allison hit (twice) I didn't miss a day of work.

[Douglas Fletcher]

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Isn't Walker a Texas ranger?

Per human nature, everyone's going to piss thier pants over the next couple storms and then go back to complacent mode.

I expect Bush to be on TV the moment before landfall wearing a raincoat and filling sandbags. So everyone can feel so nice and snuggly.

[M1EK]

"When I lived in Houston, there was never any fuss over tropical threats. Even when Allison hit (twice) I didn't miss a day of work."

Ammonium, Allison was just a little tropical storm. This is a cat-4 hurricane. BIG difference.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

First we're bleeing money for the war, then Katrina, and now possibly Rita.

Has our spending ever been this bad? How the fuck are we going to pay for all this shit? Is our government in danger of going bankrupt?

It's times like this that I'm fucking glad I didn't vote for Bush.

[Smalls]

I have to agree with Jennifer. Striking a city that's already in ruins vs striking a city with a lot to lose.....I hate to be cold hearted, but what more could happen to NO? At least if it got hit again right away, more people might rethink the idea of rebuilding a city below sea level between a lake, a river, and the Gulf.

[thoreau]

Obviously I hope it doesn't hit anywhere. But if it does make landfall? Well, I reluctantly have to say NO. Better that it hit the city with the fewest people currently in it and the least left to lose.

Besides, that guy what's-his-name is already in trouble for commandeering one school bus. It would totally suck for him if he had to go to Houston or where ever, commandeer another one, and then face 2 sets of sanctions rather than 1.

[R C Dean]

How the fuck are we going to pay for all this shit?

Taxes.

Is our government in danger of going bankrupt?

No, but you might.

[R C Dean]

It's times like this that I'm fucking glad I didn't vote for Bush.

And your not voting for Bush has affected the weather how, again?

[Jennifer]

Bush had nothing to do with the weather, but Bush DID have a lot to do with our bleeding money in Iraq.

[Hakluyt]

Isn't this a sign that Bush is the anti-Christ? 🙂

[Crushinator]

I agree with Jennifer - let Rita sock New Orleans. Bush has promised $200 Billion of our tax money to rebuild the place. I would rather have my portion of this reconstruction fund remain in my rapidly thinning bank account. So if NOLA gets whacked a second time, with nobody caught in the destruction, the feds might reconsider wasting our money there.

This opinion is slightly biased by the fact that the projected path of Rita goes directly over my home. I need to stock up on water, food, and bullets.

[Eric the .5b]

the projected path of Rita goes directly over my home.

I'm a little ways north of that, myself. Fairly inland, though.

Take care, Crushinator.

[stubby]

Hak: I agree...betta us than them.

We are 50 miles inland, and we didn't flood during Allison, so water does not worry me. It's the potential wind - and being without electricity in 95+ weather - that's got me jumpy. My husband is convinced that everyone is blowing the threat out of proportion, so to speak. I'm convinced my husband is nuts. We will most likely stay.

My sister's family and my parents are going up to the Woodlands and my mom's frantic cos I won't go. Now tell me - why is the Woodlands any safer, from a wind perspective, than the Meyerland area? As flooding is not my concern, why would I be any safer in a 10 year old Woodlands house than in a 55 year old Willowbend house? Makes no sense to me.

[Jennifer]

Stubby--

At least make sure you and your husband have plenty of water. I've always read one gallon per person per day, but considering how hot it is down there, and how much more you're likely to sweat without AC, I'd play it safe and make it two gallons per person per day.

Here in Connecticut you can get store-brand spring water for 67 cents per gallon. It's probably even cheaper in Texas.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

RC Dean:

Dude, c'mon. Bush is far from being conservative on finance and budget issues.

But the religious right loves him. He's conservative in that way.

[JD]

How the fuck are we going to pay for all this shit?

As others have said, taxes, but I'd add "mostly paid by your kids, not you", because we'll raise money with bonds, which will subsequently have to be paid back.

Is our government in danger of going bankrupt?

Good question. I think in some senses yes, and in some no. Right now we owe approx. $8 trillion, increasing at about $1.5 billion per day. I find myself wondering: if the US government held a going-out-of-business sale, would it own enough to cover its debts? The US does, after all, own a crapload of land and expensive military hardware. $8T worth, I don't know about. We also have to consider the fact that much of the "national debt" is already held by other parts of the federal government. Other parts of it are held by US citizens. What that means in a practical sense I don't know either. (Other than "government finance is largely a shell game anyway".) In another important sense, the government can never go "bankrupt" as long as its debts are denominated in its own currency, because it controls the printing presses; it could, if it wanted, just print up $8T. This would have a number of disastrous effects, and I believe the setup of the Federal Reserve technically disallows this, but it's always a possibility.

BTW, I got a non-funny laugh out of the last paragraph of this CNN story on the debt clock: "Senior economic advisers to Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush agree with the principle of paying down the debt but have not committed to a specific date for eliminating it."

Four years ago, the debt was only $5.7T, and now it's $8T. The idea of even paying it down substantially, to say nothing of eliminating it, is nothing but a sick joke.

[Crushinator]

Stubby-

I am surprised to find out that you are a female and a texan. I always thought your screen name referred to a circumcision gone horribly wrong.

Here in Austin the folks are flocking to the stores for provisions. The local WalMart and Sam's Club were already out of bottled water and batteries. Saturday could be brutal. That mother could be a CAT 5 when it hits. It does not take much to knock out the electrical supply for an extended period of time. Your hubby may be taking this too lightly. Just look at the size of the hurricane on the satellite photos!

Remember to fill up your bathtub(s) on Friday night. You may not want to drink the water, but you could use it for washing and to flush the toilet.

[joe]

Did they actually evacuate people from a hurricaine disaster area to Galveston?

Because that's just not right.

[Jennifer]

Stubby, Rita is now a Category 5. I really, really wish you and your husband would get the hell out of there. But if you insist on staying home, at least make sure you and your husband have ample provisions.

[Isaac Bartram]

Stubby

I second Jennifer.

That's turning into one horrible looking storm.

If I was in Houston I would be seriously thinking of evacuating. And judging by the forecast I would have to make up my mind by mid-afternoon today at the latest. On the other hand, if the roads get too clogged it may be best to stay put. Obviously everyone must make his own risk assessment.

Unless you are in a flood-prone area (which I heard the mayor had ordered evacuated), most of the danger is be from high winds and flying debris. That means securing loose items and boarding up windows even if you do leave, and hoping your neighbors do the same. That can go a long way to minimizing damage.

If you can't board up windows taping will at least reduce the damage from broken glass.

Fifty miles inland is not much for Cat5 winds to dissipate. The storm will still be packing a hell of a punch.