Category: Random News

Forgot to take “before” pics of the utility lines over my house, but here are some “after” ones, taken with my Treo:

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Went over at 8 this morning to get the trimmings that fell into my neighbor’s backyard, but couldnt’ get anyone to answer the gate, and when I went around to hop the fence in the back, saw that someone had already tossed them over the fence. Sorry!
In all the running around yesterday, forgot to get gas for my car and oil for the generator. Found the oil at the Diamond Shamrock on Almeda at Southmore, and gas at the DS at Main and Elgin. The line at the latter was about an hour long when I got there, but I had a book. People on the whole were being very friendly and good-natured about things, but a couple of people were not. The store was closed, but the pumps were still on. Only two of the four pumps were working, and then only the premium, and they were only accepting credit cards, not debit. While I was waiting, some guy at the pump started being a jerk (I missed seeing what happened), and the police came by.

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Everyone else was calm, and when he left everything returned to nice and easy. One guy was passing out water to folks, another volunteered to go buy some beer (Spec’s is still open!). When my turn came, I had to back in to get the hose to reach. While pumping, a lady pulled in behind me. Here is our conversation:

“Excuse me, ma’am, but the line has formed on the other side.”
“Then why are you facing this way?”
“I had to back in so the hose would reach.”
“Well, I didn’t know that.”
“Yes ma’am, that’s why I’m telling you…the line is on the other side.”
“Well, they should have gotten in on this side.”
“Folks have been waiting for an hour or more in line.”
“You just get your own gas and mind your own business.”

Sigh.

Got the generator set up and it fired up like a champ. Going to hop on my bike and snap pics around town, then come back and nap before tonight. Again, if you are in town, come on over!

If you’re following things from out of town, will continue posting as I can. If the track continues as projected, will wait for things to settle down, then head to Beaumont late tomorrow or Sunday to help out my folks.

Got tons of food, water, and other beverages. Got a generator, and plenty of gasoline to run it. Got John’s parents (who are in France) house all secured. Got all the loose stuff picked up from in front of my garage. Got tape and wood screws (already had some plywood).

After nap, will trim some branches over the house.

Will remember to start taking pictures, too.

CNN.com – Hurricane Rita drops to Category 4 – Sep 22, 2005:

Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Cross told CNN that this is the first time that a mandatory evacuation has been issued for Houston — a city of 3 million people. He said that traffic was being reversed on key roads leading into the city to speed the flow of traffic.

This makes it sound like Houston is being forced to evacuate. Only *parts* of Houston are under this order, that parts that I talked about in my earlier post, and referenced in the links on the right.

Again, y’all don’t panic…Houston is not under a total evacuation; only the areas listed in the links on the right.

Douglas Adams was right.

That being said, some areas do need to prepare to evacuate, but these are mainly on the east side of town or south of the beltway (as well as areas that are prone to flooding, like near Braes Bayou, Buffalo Bayou, Sims Bayou, and White Oak Bayou):

Houston/Galveston Evacuation Zones (PDF, 762kb) from the TxDPS Division of Emergency Management

Galveston County detail (PDF, 1.7Mb)

Harris County detail (PDF, 2.8Mb)

Evacuation Routes (PDF, 2.9Mb)

Prepare for Evacuation (PDF, 446kb) (make and take your computer backup with you, or take your hard drive)

KHOU has some very good maps up of the current track of Rita, the computer models, and historical tracks of major storms that have been in the same vicinity at this time in years past.

For those who will be staying put, fill your bathtubs to use as a source of drinking water. You can also drink the water in the toilet reservoir. Get canned food and a manual can opener. Working flashlight and batteries that fit it (and maybe a spare bulb). Refill your prescriptions. Fill up your gas tank. Be smart!

Hurrican Survial Kit from the Weather Research Center.

Again, don’t panic. This is not going to be another New Orleans: Katrina passed just by a city built in a bowl-shaped depression that is near or below sea level; Rita will most likely pass a hundred or more miles west of a city on a sloping plain that averages almost 50 ft above sea level. Houston is not surrounded by levees holding back a river on one side and a lake on the other.

As the detail maps show, the projected effect from a Category 5 storm surge (which is the biggest destroyer of life and property) won’t make it inside the loop. Wind damage and flooding will be widespread, but mainly in a swath 100 miles either side of the eye of the storm. Most models are predicting landfall at Matagorda Bay or south. I’m betting that it hits closer to Corpus Cristi.

What Houstonians Should Know About Hurricanes by Jill F. Hasling, Certified Consulting Meteorologist, Weather Research Center