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Rita turns; now we wait
Published September 23, 2005
ANGLETON — Hurricane Rita was on a forecast track to spare Brazoria County the brunt of its wrath 24 hours before the Category 4 storm’s first rain was expected to hit the Texas Coast.
At 10 p.m. Thursday, Rita had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, according to a National Weather Service bulletin, and was moving west/northwest at 10 mph. Projections call for a northwest turn in the next 24 hours, bringing Rita ashore near the Texas/Louisiana border late Friday.
That would put Brazoria County on the storm’s clean side, with less wind and storm surge as the counterclockwise rotation of the storm loses speed over land.
That still means a storm surge of up to eight feet and sustained winds of 72 mph on the coast, said Bill Reed, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office.
Those conditions would bring minimal flooding, said Rick Perry, Brazoria County’s emergency management coordinator.
Brazoria County Judge John Willy said he was starting to relax.
“I would smile very big and be happy to go help the people to the east because they are going to need it,” Willy said of the storm’s potential change in course.
Estimates on how many people had left the county varied widely. Willy estimated 30 percent of the residents had left, while Department of Public Safety Sgt. Randy Jones put the number at more than 90 percent.
Businesses from Pearland to Surfside Beach were closed, while most streets remained eerily deserted. DPS troopers and sheriff’s deputies had started patrols of neighborhoods by 2 p.m. Thursday. All road blocks had been taken down, Jones said.
Brazoria County remained under a hurricane warning that extended from Morgan City, La., to Port O’Connor.
Willy said the latest projections don’t mean people who have left the county should come rushing back because most businesses are closed, there is a “critical” shortage of gasoline, and Rita still could turn on the county.
People also shouldn’t be driving in the tropical storm conditions forecast for the county Saturday, he said.
Freeport imposed a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew for Thursday.
Reed said at a 4 p.m. briefing with emergency management officials that forecasters had “high confidence” in the current track. A high pressure ridge over Texas was beginning to move east, which is what allowed Rita to turn more northerly from its current west-by-northwest track.
At a 10 a.m. briefing, Reed said if the storm doesn’t turn as far north as the track projects, Brazoria County would take a direct hit.
“The debate among the forecasters this morning was how much of a westward track it will take,” Reed said.
Department of Public Safety troopers removed roadblocks from Highway 36 and Highway 288. The county’s mandatory evacuation devolved into chaos Wednesday as fewer Department of Public Safety troopers than expected showed up. Drivers made a dash for Highway 36, which turned into a parking lot, while Highway 288 was running at posted speeds as far as Beltway 8.
Willy said the biggest problem was evacuations in Fort Bend County and Harris County, which further clogged roads, and Interstate 45, Highway 59 and Highway 290 came to a halt.
“We have had little or no cooperation from Harris County with regard to supporting our evacuation routes up 288 around Beltway 8 and out 290 to 6,” Willy said. “The state developed this plan. We adhered to the plan; Harris County has ignored it.”
Harris County Judge Robert Eckels did not immediately return calls Thursday.
Willy was livid over the congestion.
“I think we had a good plan, we followed our plan to the ‘T,’ the cities, all of our law enforcement, our EMS’s, everybody did a fabulous job down here until Houston and Harris County forgot there was a plan,” Willy said. “They clogged up the highways to where there is still traffic sitting and waiting.”
The trooper shortage also was a major factor.
“I can’t handle this evacuation without manpower,” Jones said Wednesday afternoon. “This is ridiculous.”
Jones said evacuations in Harris and Fort Bend counties, which the state did not intend to evacuate in its traffic management plan, have proven problematic for would-be Brazoria County evacuees. The state’s plan, approved in June, calls for Galveston and Brazoria counties’ evacuation routes to be blocked from Harris County residents.
The state promised 175 extra DPS troopers, but only 70 showed up and they didn’t arrive until 9 p.m. Wednesday, three hours after the mandatory evacuation started.
Many Brazoria County residents tried to evacuate only to turn back after finding stagnant traffic and confusing instructions.
DPS officials referred questions to Gov. Rick Perry’s office Wednesday. Perry’s office did not return calls Wednesday and didn’t have immediate comment Thursday.
Michael Wright is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.
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