Rita has blown through

She has come and pass. What started out as a possible menace on the proportion of Katrina turned out to be another mild hurricane hitting a less populated area in the Gulf states.

The evacuation and mass exodus of the coastal regions of Texas and Houston was unprecedented, but it was evident this reaction was due very much to the images of Katrina's wrath in Louisiana & Mississippi. Don't get me wrong, a category 5 hurricane barreling down the Gulf of Mexico is nothing to take lightly. It's just the collective reaction of the region, as correct as it was, would seem unlikely if Katrina had not caused the devastation it did with the horrific images seen on television.

I would hope the evacuation would occur the next time a category 4 or 5 hurricane came close, but I fear the reaction by the population will be much slower next time. Why? First off, watching the news it seemed evident people were not happy to be waiting in the long traffic jams heading out of town. And the lack of gasoline a the pump did not help matters. Traffic barely moved on these long stretches, and many motorists had to either abandon their cars or start pushing them. Secondly Rita made a turn before her projected path to Galveston/Houston. So this area was spared the mass destruction typical of a hurricane and she also weaken from her peak as a category 5. Unfortunate, this will reinforce people to wait it out a bit longer next time.

As with Katrina there are lessons to be learned by the different levels of government & the general population. These lessons come from the indelible images left in the public conciousness. The pictures of abandoned people in a flooded city and the ones of millions of motorist desparately trying to flee. The system is not equipped for an unorganized and mass expulsion of the area. I would hope a more systematic approach is developed in the future for all cities and that the citizens would adhere to it. It is a government's imperative on the local, state, & federal level to protect thier citizens and to keep order. In this manner the US has many solutions to implement in the future.

As for me and my family, everything turned out well. If Rita had hit Galveston/Houston we would have all been relatively safe. As much as you can be with a hurricane knocking on our door.