Personal updates from before and during the storm
By John David Powell (09/24/05)
10:59 p.m. Rita minus one
Rita is coming ashore soon, closer to Port Arthur, but
hard winds and heavy rains already hitting Galveston.
Again, surreal. I’m watching Fox News broadcasting
live from Houston and Beaumont and using Weather
Channel video from a fire in Galveston near the
historic Strand district. At the same time, I’m
watching on my computer live, streaming video from the
Houston ABC affiliate covering the same fire.
Wind and rain coming into downtown Houston. Fox
reporting some power outages in Nassau Bay. All the
while, Rita sits off shore teasing Texas and Louisiana
with her evil eye.
The power outages remind me that I passed on my way
here no fewer than seven convoys of power crews
heading in the opposite direction, making their way to
the Gulf Coast. Seventeen search and rescue teams
have come into Texas, along with trucks of ice, water,
and meals.
It’s 11:15 and CNN is announcing “Rita Strikes”. I’m
not sure if that’s a noun or a verb. I’m not sure if
CNN producers know the difference, either.
Fox now reporting police activity in downtown Houston,
but the reporter doesn’t know what’s going on, except
that he sees flashing lights. Now, someone in his ear
tells him that it’s nothing more than a traffic
accident. No sooner did he say that than they cut
away to another reporter standing in the rain in
Winnie, Texas, and not adding anything to the
coverage, except that he’s another reporter standing
in the rain with his finger in his ear.
11:20 and Fox tells us that Rita is expected to come
ashore soon. I guess they aren’t watching CNN (or
visa versa).
11:25, and the Houston tv station reports that Rita
will come ashore in about 4 – 5 hours.
5:45 a.m.
I couldn’t stay awake and woke up about a half an hour
ago. Rita came ashore about 2:30 local time. Still
trying to find out what’s going on back home. I’m
listening to a Shreveport reporter telling a Houston
tv station that this area can expect tropical-storm
winds and rain for the next couple of days, maybe as
much as ten inches. Even if everything is ok back
home, the weather may not allow us to leave until at
least Monday.
Kemah still getting hard gusts of wind, but a local
reporter says a police officer told her that the storm
caused no major damage and no major flooding. The
bridges in the area are ok and passable. And, the
wind strength apparently lessens the farther one moves
away from Kemah and toward the interstate and Houston.
At least that’s what the reporter says. The rising
of the sun will reveal the true extent of the damage.
A Houston weather guy says there is heavy rain east of
the interstate and that could be the area that floods.
Light to moderate rain from League City to Galveston.
CenterPoint Energy reports five hundred and seventy
five thousand customers without power as of about five
o’clock, forty-one thousand in Galveston county.
Entergy officials say they expect substantially more
than the fifty-five thousand they reported several
hours ago.
Winds back home at six o’clock ranging from twenty-six
to forty-five mph.
I’m typing this in partial darkness. Chad is sawing
logs and I don’t want to disturb him unnecessarily.
Only lights in the room come from the television and
from my computer monitor, so please forgive the typos.
Will update later, but it looks as if our home and
area escaped destruction. Too early to tell about
those directly in Rita’s path. Thanks to everyone who
kept and keep us in their thoughts and prayers. It
worked.
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