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Rita veering from Brazoria County
Published September 22, 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 4 p.m. Thursday, Rita had maximum sustained winds of 144 mph with gusts of up to 178, said Bill Reed, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Houston.
Estimates on how many people had left the county varied wildly. Brazoria County Judge John 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.
Business 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.
The storm was expected to make landfall on the Bolivar Peninsula, possibly as far east as Sabine Pass, Reed said in a conference call with emergency management officials. Brazoria County remained under a hurricane watch that extended from Morgan City, La., to Port O’Connor.
Forecasters projected the storm to make landfall late Friday night or early Saturday at High Island. 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 less than eight feet and sustained winds of 72 mph on the coast, Reed said.
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.
Willy said that doesn’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 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 the 10 a.m. briefing, Reed said if the storm doesn’t turn as far north as the track projects, Brazoria County will 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,” DPS Sgt. Randy Jones, who runs the Angleton office, 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.
There was one confirmed fatality on the evacuation routes, which happened about 4:30 a.m. Thursday on Highway 36, 100 yards south of the Fort Bend County line. Jones said the driver drove off the road and hit a tree. No other details, including the driver’s identity, were available.
Michael Wright is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.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 is expected to hit the Texas Coast.
At 4 p.m. Thursday, Rita had maximum sustained winds of 144 mph with gusts of up to 178, said Bill Reed, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Houston.
Reed said the storm is expected to make landfall on the Bolivar Peninsula, possibly as far east as Sabine Pass, Reed said in conference call with emergency management officials. Brazoria County remained under a hurricane watch that extended from Morgan City, La., to Port O’Connor.
Forecasters projected the storm to make landfall late Friday night or early Saturday at High Island. 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 less than eight feet and sustained winds of 72 mph on the coast, Reed said.
Those conditions would bring minimal flooding, said Rick Perry, Brazoria County’s emergency management coordinator.
Brazoria County Judge John Willy said he’s 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.
Willy said that doesn’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.
Reed said forecasters have “high confidence” in the current track. A high pressure ridge over Texas was beginning to move east, which is what allowed Rita’s to turn more northerly from its current west-by-northwest track.
At the 10 a.m. briefing, Reed said if the storm doesn’t turn as far north as the track projects, Brazoria County will 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,” DPS Sgt. Randy Jones, who runs the Angleton office, 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 further clogged roads. 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.
There was one confirmed fatality on the evacuation routes, which happened about 4:30 a.m. Thursday on Highway 36, 100 yards south of the Fort Bend County line. Jones said the driver drove off the road and hit a tree. No other details, including the driver’s identity, were available.
Michael Wright is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.
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