Update [2005-9-21 18:1:28 by susanhu]: MSNBC just announced that Rita, now a Category 5 hurricane, is being called the “fifth most destructive storm in history.”
First: I heard that Rita is actually — no, no, she’s not that gassy, not-a-FOXie-ho’-anymo’ host for MSNBC — but is actually Barbara Bush’s illegitimate, twisted grandchild who hates the Bushes and wants to give them another reallllly big demo of what blowback means in physical terms since, heh, they don’t get it in political terms.
Seriously, Yahoo has a very good page listing the latest wire stories, photos, and video. (Note: The image TOP LEFT is from the Nat’l Hurricane Center, and shows the “strike zone” of Rita. A LARGER version is below the fold.) From a Yahoo/AP story:
Meteorologist Chris Landsea of the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Rita could strengthen to a Category 5 with wind over 155 mph as it moves over the warm waters of the gulf, or it could ease to a Category 3, with wind of less than 130 mph.
And, Amy Goodman offers this summary:
Hurricane Rita Upgraded to Category 4 Storm
The Gulf Coast region is preparing for another major hurricane making its way across the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier today Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 4 storm. If Rita stays on course, the storm will likely hit Texas by the end of the week and possibly dump large amounts of rain on New Orleans. This is already forcing thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees staying in Texas to evacuate from their temporary homes. Rita is the fifth major hurricane of the 2005 season.
— From the Nat’l Hurricane Center. This image shows the “strike zone” of Rita. If you CLICK on the image at the Center, you can zoom in or out to see specific areas.
SHARE news, stories, worries, and how we can help — if we can help you in affected areas.
Has Bush — who’s on my TV again — ever mentioned good ideas like conservation or the effects of global warming?
(Suppose I’d better fill up on gas today. Heard that the Texas oil platforms might be hit hard.)
off the coast of Africa where they originate then we wouldn’t have to fight them here.
That coast of Africa, it seems to have become a breeding ground for hurricane-related program activity. Reliable sources say that a hurricane had a meeting with an earthquake in Prague, and it looked like they were planning something. I guess we’re going to declare war on blizzards.
We could always tow some icebergs down from the poles and leave them in the hurricanes’ path to cool the water down.
LOL!
I can’t wait to meet him!
He’s probably right.
Apparently the Gulf of Mexico is a half degree centigrade warmer than normal. That extra heat adds enegy to the hurricanes after they pass Florida. Katrina and Rit both jumped a couple of categories when they entered the Gulf.
I always thought that if we could just divert them towards the north in the Atlantic and get them to hit some useless wasteland, like, oh, Washington D.C., we would all be a lot better off.
Maybe we could cross-breed hurricanes with terriers, and get them to chasing their tails in mid-atlantic until they are exhausted, panting and grinning?
Thanks for reminding me to get off my ass and go fill up — the hub said he spent 38$ on 13 gallons yesterday…he was none too pleased.
I DO NOT even want to step outside my door, it is hell’s oven out there, but off I go.
BRB!
Well, damn, I don’t know where the hub went to fill up, but I just did for $2.63 9/10….a week ago, everywhere was $2.99…anyway, I’m sure that won’t last much longer…
who has lived here all of her life is this. Everybody getting caught up in the whole CAT 4 or CAT 5 classification misses other very important indicators of a hurricanes overall power and energy. The barometric pressure is big indicator of how powerful the hurricane is, the lower the pressure the more overall power the storm has within it. The more organized the storm and focused and smaller the eye is the powerful it is. If it is very organized it is harder to break down and break apart. Rita at this moment is very very very organized with a horribly small well defined eye. I think it will fluctuate from 5 to 4, it most likely will hit landfall as a CAT 4 due to the temp change of the coastal waters but CAT 4 or CAT 5 only indicates wind speed and doesn’t take in account the sheer force and power that the storm has created and stored within itself. I haven’t heard anything about where the storms pressure stands right now.
horribly small well defined eye…
sorta like Bush’s beady little eyes?
Everyone gets stuck on the Richter magnitude scale. But that number does not tell the whole story. Duration is very important. 20 seconds and 60 seconds make a huge difference. There are body waves, s waves, p waves and each does different kinds of damage. You get the picture. TV talking heads do not want to venture into gray areas that are hard for people to understand, they want easy sound bites. The dumbing down of America.
I have a close relative who lives just north of Houston. She works in downtown Houston and says the whole city is in the process of shutting down. They don’t live in a flood zone and are 70 miles inland, but are evacuating because of possible wind damage. They will head out on Friday morning. They are trying to make reservations for a hotel that will accept them and their two dogs and are having difficulty. She says the area has over a quarter of a million Katrina evacuees and that’s making it a bit tougher to find places to evacuate to. If they have to, they will just pack their air mattress, supplies and the puppies and sleep where they can, just to get out of the path of the storm.
On CNN they just had information about how Rita is headed directly for massive oil fields in the gulf with over 130 oil rigs. Susan, we’d better ALL fill up our gas tanks. Oy.
Nag, my house is wreck and we have a dog and two cats, but we have a HUGE yard, and space for air matresses, if they want to come here (Austin) they are welcome to stay the weekend.
As Stan (Shely’s little brother) would say, “I learned something today.”
I learned that it’s pretty darn smart to live near Austin, aside from it being the coolest, hippest city in Texas. It’s, like, much safer and less stormy.
Important note: The last time the Texas coast was hit by a hurricane, it spawned tornados as far away as San Antonio — and that was no Cat 4 or 5. It was much smaller than that. Can’t quite remember which year or what name. Keep your weather radios handy, even if you’re not in Rita’s target area, but further inland.
Brinn, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Apparently they found a hotel, not sure where, I got the info second hand. You are truely a generous soul. 🙂
I lived in Houston for a number of years, and it has one clear characteristic beyond high humidity heat. It floods every time there is a heavy rain, shutting the town down. It happened two or three times a year when I lived there. The problem was poor drainage, not so much low ground like New Orleans.
Large problems with that were people who were driving through the water and turned to go down a street and learned the hard way it was a canal, or who tried to drive under a freeway on a water-covered road and suddenly learned that instead of six inches of water it was an underpass with a deep dip that already had eight drowned cars out of sight under ten feet of water. (A lot of drowned cars that insurance companies have written off as totaled will be sold in the next two years. The electrical systems will be shot.)
The key is that Houston, while having a flooding problem, is not nearly as susceptible to a hurricane as New Orleans. I rode Alicia out when it hit twenty years ago. No power and no lights for three days, but I had food and water and a sturdy building. Since even the day was dark it is probably the longest I have gone without reading in fifty years. Flashlight and a battery-powered radio are essential.
People in mobile homes and closer to the coast need to go North ASAP.
The other problem is that hurricanes spawn tornadoes. Again, it is particularly a problem for mobile homes.
Evacuation of Houston will be difficult at best. We are talking about the fourth largest city in the U.S. The road net is better, but the roads have a lot more people to carry.
There are enough dangers so that you don’t want to ride out the hurricane even 40 miles inland as Houston is, but the likelihood of a mass disaster like New Orleans is a lot less.
Well it looks like the Austin Tribbers are gonna be needed again, as busy as they already are caring for Katrina’s victim’s, but I know they’re up to the task. Please let us all know how we can help.
Cat4 or Cat 5, it doesn’t really matter, if Galveston get’s hit it’s gonna be a disaster. Plus all the oil refineries between there and Houston in LaMarque and Texas City…bad news.
Personally I’m worried for the friends I still have there from the years I lived there during elementary school. I’ve been trying to call my old best childhood friend Wally but can’t get through, busy signal. They’re up to thier elbows in preparation no doubt. I’ve been yearning to return all these years and I’m hoping the place doesn’t get hit too hard. It holds many magical memories for me. When I was in Austin and Crawford my mind kept trying to figure out ways that I could get down there, alas…..
Oh, Michael, I hope you get in touch with them — I just made a few phone calls this morning and am happy to know that everyone I know in the area is headed out tonight or tomorrow a.m. — some folks are family, not the blood kind, but you know what I mean and it was good to know that they are headed this way…
Is there anything I can do to help you get in touch with your friends?
Thanks for the offer, but I’m sure they’re fine. Probably taking off to higher ground. I just tried again though and it’s still busy.
First you get the prophets, major and minor ranging from King and Chomsky through Sheehan and Kucinich.
Next come the disasters such as earthquakes, storms, fires and floods.
Then come the plagues.
Finally comes the irrelevance.
Seems like the bible mentions the Eagle(USA) falls from within…. As America’s fall excellerates to a free-fall, MSM is concerned with pretty white girls, and what the government tells them to say. ALL IS WELL, move along, NOTHING to see here folks… Ignore the incoming depression, pay no attention to the POLICE STATE in New Orleans… Don’t look at that patriot act or bankruptcy bill, too closely… Papertrails, no need for stinking paper trails, HEY, don’t go protesting, we may need to arrest you.. ALL IS WELL; MY ASS !!!!!!
This just popped up on dkos:
Live From Houston — Rita Blogging
It appears bonddad is going to hunker down and feed some on the scene reports.
It’s a category 5 now. This from the storm diary running at dKos:
The way this season is going, they may to invent a category higher than 5.
Filled my car’s gas tank an hour ago, $2.71. Slightly cheaper at that station because it’s closer to where the oil tankers unload for the coast.
You folks in Texas take care, don’t take risks. Bonddad, if you’re going to blog this thing, be safe.
There is a high pressure system pushing down which reduces the possibility of any sharp northward turns.
Also water temps are a bit cooler getting closer to Texas.
That’s not much, but it’s something.
Let’s hope, but winds to 165 mph is frightening… As far as where it will hit, google haarp or haarp AND hurricanes…. Who benefits, big oil…. Let’s not overlook police state….. and who that benefits. HOpe I am wrong. EtJ
PS stormy seas ahead, this will not be the last hurricane.
And it could go back to 4 again. In fact, it probably will, from the cooler water.
Not that that will make a lot of difference. I guess they should change the title of this thread now.
Ductape level four or five, what’s the difference. OIL is up, gas will go up, heating costs will go up.. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!! Waiting for FEMA’s ductape man to suggest that Texans buy sponges. Could lead to DuctapeSpongeFatwa. Check out Haarp or Haarp hurricanes..
EtJ
PS Dwell on
“one man’s conspiracy is another man’s business plan”
Who benefits ????? Dwell on who benefited from Katrina.
Man I hope I am wrong…….
Besides, HAARP is only a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory.
And it is also only passive.
So does Galveston have a lot of poor people?
Galveston has a lot of OIL, not sure of the poor people. My guess is that Houston has a lot of poor people, including those from New Orleans.
Interesting article: HAARP – The Instrument
of Destruction
“Irresponsible acts of global vandalism.”
http://www.rense.com/politics2/haarpinst.htm
One of those government targeted websites…
When the conspiracies make more sense than the government’s fairy tales, HOUSTON we have a problem…
TESLA was an amazing mind, and we did witness what the powers-that-be did with Einstein’s brilliance.
I have been following the HAARP project for years now and indeed I think it is dangerous and much more attention should be paid to what is going on there.
Diane,
Sadly to many are willing to run out chanting ‘conspiracy'(modern speak for nothing to see here folks).
May be worth pointng out the true spelling, the initials of this weapon…..
The weapon exists, and a curious mind would wonder why.. Brings to memory the 70s(?) commercial, IT’S NOT NICE TO FOOL WITH MOTHER NATURE….
I find it hard to be spiritual, and not be outraged with this current government…. How about you ?? EtJ
Interesting letter: An Open Letter From Lorraine Brown
March 1, 2004
http://www.guidrynews.com/04Forum/06104Brown.htm
“Actually, the majority of people are the lower income earners. They are being run off from Galveston. Galveston’s poor are being priced away on their own Seawall and Parks.”
Excellent read…. Please take the time…
Why won’t there be more hurricanes like this? It seems a pattern is emerging. Why are the Gulf waters so warm?
Gas here in Northern California went from 2.79 to 3.39 the day after Katrina. Today it’s 3.36.
ExxonMobile, hasn’t done a good job about essplayning the global warming “liberal hoax” and how the warm waters will these hurricanes WORSE.
The eye is key, too. If the eye passes over you, you’re fucked. The winds change from bending and battering everything one way – straight to bending battering the other direction without any gradual build up.
We had an eye circle around Guam for two damn days and two long ass nights. FEMA was already there though. This was Pre-Bushfucked times.
I found your Exxon mention interesting. Before Rita hits, who will benefit. Exxon, and the bush gang for sure. “The Houston ship channel has an even higher concentration of refining and petrochemical plants than the Mississippi Delta and is home to Exxon Mobil Corp.’s(XOM: news, chart, profile) huge 557,000 barrel-a-day Baytown refinery, the nation’s largest”
Too many coincidences with oil and the hurricanes..
Further from the article: “Just a few miles away is Shell Oil’s (RD: news, chart, profile) 340,000 bpd Deer Park refinery complex, the sixth-largest in the country.
The Houston channel is a 25-mile waterway linking the refineries and petrochemical plants just east of Houston with the Gulf of Mexico. It is ranked as the nation’s second-biggest port facility in terms of total tonnage, most of it carried on oil tankers and chemical bulk carriers.
About half way between Houston and the Gulf of Mexico lies BP Plc’s (BP: news, chart, profile) sprawling Texas City refinery, a 460,000 bpd, 30-unit facility that alone accounts for roughly 3% of the nation’s gasoline supply.”
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B0A83C892-DE65-4647-A6AB-262FB7375D99%7D&siteid
=google
Pay attention to the news. More is mentioned about oil, and the price of oil, than the human loss of life.. More mentioned about oil, than the damage to the environment. America is all about oil, show me the money.. While America is getting ready to suffer again, the big boys are considering how to make money. No talks of the Haarp, no talks of global warming, no talks of fixing anything, just profiteering. If a Police State/Martial Laew comes to Texas; America can kiss her ass goodbye.
I suppose you saw the news that Pres. Bush has been responsive to Congress’s request for an investigation into price gouging by the oil companies, but that he appointed an EXXON attorney to be in charge of the investigation.
Oh, jeez! That’s the Bush administration–no henhouse left unfoxed.
1st para says it all. Typos mine.
A polluters Feast by Tim Dickinson
“What can you say about the environmental record of an admin. that seeks to test pesticides on poor children and pregnant women? That argues in court that a a dam is part of a salmon’s natural environment? That places a timber lobbyist in charge of the national forests and an oil loobyist in charge of government reports on global warming? That cuts clean-air inspections at oil refineries in half, allows Superfund to go bankrupt and permits the mining industry to pump toxic waste directly into a wild Alsakan Lake? Only this: It’s about to get even worse.”
WTF is wrong with America??? a: Bush and his supporters.
the first thing bush mentioned last time to us was all about how this was a temporary delay in the continental pipeline.
The bastard thought we cared about the fucking name of a pipeline while we were glued to our TVs awaiting word on what they were going to do to save lives.
He had Papa Bush and Clinton behind him. I will never forget how he went on and on and on about the “pipeline”
but nothing about lifelines.
And, of course, there’s HSUS and so many other groups.
Tonight, when I get back home, I’l try to put up some stunning reports from AFK terrier groups who went to New Orleans to try to help, and which were forwarded to the raccoon Yahoo list I’m on. Staggering stuff … and one of the people mentioned in those reports — the Virginia veterinarian — was on MSNBC today.
MSNBC had a Red Cross guy on who said he tried to talk two Galveston people into leaving but that they refused to leave because they have TWO KITTENS. The Red Cross guy told them, “Come on. Your lives are worth more than that.”
I think he should have told them to put the kittens in a carrier and to come with him! This separating people from their dear companiions has just got to stop.
RANT
alot of people aren’t giving because they no longer trust Red Cross.
Not in helping/getting to the people that need help (remember they didn’t go near the convention center) and in distributing the funds properly.
Red Cross and Bush… a disaster made for each other.
from http://faraichideya.com/
Thank you Ductapefatwah, because due to this fiasco, Red Cross no longer has my trust.
I think Habitat for Humanity is going to be in need of some help.
Several here had it right when they sent money to BooTribbers who were in the area and were helping first hand the evacuees. 🙂
There are lots of people coming Austin way for Rita now too —
I just found out that my Mom has been out in Louisiana for two weeks now helping to rescue animals. I don’t know if she’s with peta or not though. Knowing her, she probably just jumped in her truck and drove out there from Florida.
This story was in the Bangor Daily news today–front page, above the fold–about Maine people who went to NO to work on animal rescue and the conditions they encountered. Be sure to read the comments about toxic water.
So, if the BDN, which is not exactly Major Metro, can get a reporter and a photographer into the area, apparently on continuing assignment, why can’t the rest of the so-called mainstream media, which IS Major Metro, do the same?
Oh, silly me. What a foolish question.
Katrina ala Bush
Seems like we should cancel bushs’ vacations. August 2001 he fiddled why 9-11 unfolded, August 2005 Katrina struck.
Is bush vacations needed to get him out of the way for the true powers to play ??? Thinking of bush at work is also frightening…. We are soooooooo screwed with bush in the position that he is. Sadly Rita may be more dangerous than Katrina. Makes one want to golf or garden.
Bush a real religious experience?