I finally got in touch with a client of mine who's been "off the radar" since Hurricane Rita ran over his town - Corrigan, Texas. He was the last one I've been waiting to hear from. Not only are people having difficulty with cell phones in the Rita affected areas, they may be without power for another week yet. They still have nursing home residents housed in the local schools.
At least Hurricane Rita didn't bring the same degree of devastation as Hurricane Katrina. People lost homes, but it seems the Houston evacuation claimed more lives than the storm. See Evacuation Lessons come at high cost: 107 Lives. As awful as the evacuation was, it really was nothing compared to the total chaos that erupted in New Orleans. The plan in Texas had flaws, and everyone freely admits that, but people here acted a lot more responsibly than many of our neighbors did in Louisiana a month earlier.
Now we have a lot of experience to draw from - both in Louisiana, Texas, and everywhere else. I sincerely hope our leaders will learn from these two storms to make future evacuation and relief efforts more efficient.
At least Hurricane Rita didn't bring the same degree of devastation as Hurricane Katrina. People lost homes, but it seems the Houston evacuation claimed more lives than the storm. See Evacuation Lessons come at high cost: 107 Lives. As awful as the evacuation was, it really was nothing compared to the total chaos that erupted in New Orleans. The plan in Texas had flaws, and everyone freely admits that, but people here acted a lot more responsibly than many of our neighbors did in Louisiana a month earlier.
Now we have a lot of experience to draw from - both in Louisiana, Texas, and everywhere else. I sincerely hope our leaders will learn from these two storms to make future evacuation and relief efforts more efficient.