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UPDATE: Coast begins to feel Rita's force
Published September 23, 2005
By Michael Wright
mike.wright(at)thefacts.com
ANGLETON — Tropical storm force winds from Hurricane Rita had reached the Texas coast by 4 p.m. Friday with gusts of up to 47 mph recorded in Galveston County.
Rita was downgraded to a Category 3 storm at 1 p.m. Friday with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. Her eye was expected to make landfall in Jefferson County at about 4 a.m. Saturday. She expected to remain a Category 3 at landfall.
A hurricane warning remained in effect from Sargent to Morgan City, La.
Brazoria County is expected to miss the brunt of the storm. Maximum sustained winds of 60 to 70 mph are expected Saturday east of Highway 288 with gusts of more than 74 mph. Storm surges are expected to be less than five feet, which should keep most of the county above the floodwaters.
The storm’s affects will last most of Saturday, said Gene Haefle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Houston-Galveston office, though the county is expected to get less than four inches of rain.
Haefle was speaking during the 4 p.m. NWS conference call update.
Surfside Beach was beginning to flood Friday morning as Rita made its approach.
The NWS’s 10 a.m. briefing focused on Chambers, Jefferson and inland counties. He said Galveston should expect tropical storm conditions all day Saturday.
By 4 p.m., winds were about 30 mph out of the northeast in Brazoria County.
In Surfside, Beach Drive was flooded, and water had come up almost to the Stop and Go on the Highway 332 beach entrance. The beachside community was deserted, with only Surfside Police Department Officer Curtis Adams and national media visible.
Brazoria County was under an eerie silence with streets deserted.
The National Weather Service briefing in the commissioners courtroom presented surreal scenes as county officials joked while a giant muted television screen on the wall showed television reporters on Surfside Beach.
Outside, Angleton’s streets were empty. The few cars on the roads treated stoplights as yield signs and all businesses in town were closed.
The county remains without medical service, gasoline or food stores as tens of thousands of people have evacuated.
Sheriff’s deputies, Department of Public Safety troopers and city police were patrolling throughout the county.
“We’re still answering calls,” Sheriff Charles Wagner said.
Officers will remain on the streets until the onset of tropical storm winds reach 40 mph.
“We’re just looking for looters and stranded motorists,” DPS Sgt. Randy Jones said.
Troopers will be carrying gasoline cans for those who run out of fuel in the county.
A 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew remains in effect for Freeport indefinitely and police have blocked off Surfside Beach and Quintana.
Angleton and Lake Jackson also had instituted a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.
Michael Wright is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.
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