Hurricane Gone

The hurricane did little damage to the Houston area. However, much of the trouble was caused by the evacuation panic. It was easy to see that the traffic would be horrendous and people would run out of gas sitting in traffic. If there was no gas in the city, why would there be any on the towns along the evacuation routes? If stupid old me figured that out Wednesday night, why didn't the city planners figure that out a long time ago.? Their evacuation plans were inadequate and half-assed. Neighbors have said it took them 18 hours to get to Austin (which is normally a 3 hour drive). Others said they went 8 miles in 8 hours before turning around. Some when to Baton Rouge taking them 36 hours in what is normally a 5-6 hour drive. The other side of the highway was empty until late Thursday when finally the other lanes were opened up. Nonetheless, it wasn't easy for people to get on those other lanes. There are no breaks in the Jersey barriers that divide the highways.

There were many actors and not many of them really had the publics benefit at priority one. The top priority of the news agencies were to get you to keep watching. The top priority of the politicians was to cover their ass. So what happened was a panic by many residents who quickly fled. Approximately 2 million area residents took to the roads.

The politicians didn't want to tell anyone to stay. That could be politically damaging if one person was hurt by staying. Not until Friday did any politician or newscaster say that people in non-flood areas (areas like West Houston, Cypress, Katy) should stay put. People not along the coast should have been urged to batten down the hatches or seek shelter at a school or church.

Even as the storm kept drifting East, newscasters kept up with their doomsday predicitions about how the storm would go west again or do a loop-di-loop and hit Houston. When Rita was a category 5 and a couple days out, I heard only one forecaster state that no hurricane has maintained a category 5 strength for more than 48 hours. Instead, every other newscaster kept forecasting expected winds as Rita would come ashore as a cat 5 storm.

Some of the statements I saw which added to the panic:

Rick Perry, Republican governor, stating broadly "If you have the capacity to get out, get out." (who, where, Rick? does that include people in West Houston?)

Michael Berry, a Republican councilman, freakedmy wife out by claiming Wednesday night "we've never been so scared in our lives." Thanks Michael. That's leadership right there.

Frank Billingsley, NBC houston meteorologist, on seeing two satellite frames of the hurricane move west from it's NW path, declared that the hurricane would start a westerly trend and strike Houston (instead of it being a small hiccup continuing on it NW trend into Beaumont.)

Houston mayor Bill White, a Democrat, was okay. After contributing to the original road clog on Wednesday, he backed off the "evacuate now" bandwagon, and sought to solve the traffic snarl that ensued. He had a calmer, more reassuring demeanor and logical approach to problem solving, albiet those problems were exxaerbated by himself. While the original evacuation plans were dismal, hopeful they are re-writing them as I type. They should include earlier opening of opposite lanes and securing extra gasoline for evacuation routes, and detailing designated shelters for residents of some of the more inland areas.

Conversely, I did a lot of sleeping over the weekend. We had water and non-perisable foods. We bought a small outdoor grill and firewood (they were out of charcoal). We made a bunch of ice, freezing water in big tupperware containers. We boarded the windows, put pictures and other valuables in watertight containers, and took pictures off the walls and everything off shelves. If the storm was aiming to hit town, I was ready to go to a local shelter.

Update: However, I am glad that the different facets of the government: mayor, governor, harris county judge, etc, worked together. After the initial panic, they all sought to solve the problems, and there was no finger pointing.