Hurricane Rita 2005

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Hurricane Rita The Forgotten Storm September
24, 2005
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The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927

• .it penetrated to the core of the nation,
  washed away the surface, and revealed the
  nations character. Then it tested that character
  and changed it. It marked the end of a way of
  seeing the world and possibly the end of that
  world as well.
• Rising Tide John M. Barry

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Calcasieu ParishPopulation 185,862
DeQuincy
Westlake
Sulphur
Iowa
Vinton
Lake Charles
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Southwest Louisiana Economy

• Petrochemical
• Oil Gas
• Aviation
• Tourism/Gaming
• Agriculture/timber
• Manufacturing
• Shipbuilding

• Seafood Harvesting
• Food Processing
• Telecommunications
• Transportation and distribution
• Telecommunications
• Technology based industries

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Rita Third Most Powerful Hurricane in Atlantic
History

• National Geographic News
• September 22, 2005 --
• Fueled by the warm late-summer waters of the
  Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Rita exploded overnight
  into the third-most powerful hurricane on record
  for the Atlantic Basin.
• As of 5 a.m. today the hurricane's strongest
  winds were blowing at 175 miles an hour (280
  kilometers an hour) and the barometric pressure
  at the storm's center had fallen to 26.51 inches,
  or 897 millibars.

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Hurricane Katrina Impact
15,000-20,000 Katrina evacuees parishwide 5,000
evacuees in Calcasieu shelters
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Katrina Sheltering Operation

• Today, there are more than 3,000 evacuees staying
  at the Civic Center
• with 1,800 others at Burton Coliseum. More are
  expected.
• We have fed, clothed and cared for the evacuees.
  We also have tried to
• Make them feel welcome here, because they will be
  here for a while.
• All of this is being done on a local level.
• FEMA officials, who showed up last Saturday,
  described the Civic Center
• Shelter as top notch. Lake Charles and
  surrounding communities have
• given thousands of dollars in donations and even
  more in supplies.
• Years from now, people will look back at this
  event and say it was one of
• Lake Charles finest hours.
• -- American Press Editorial September 9,
  2005

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Wednesday Night -- 10 am Forecast Map
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Wednesday Night Briefing -9/218 hours before
Mandatory Evacuation

• HURRICANE RITA PROBABILITIES NUMBER 18
  ...NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 10 PM CDT
  WED SEP 21 2005
• PROBABILITIES FOR GUIDANCE IN HURRICANE
  PROTECTION PLANNING BY GOVERNMENT AND DISASTER
  OFFICIALS AT 10 PM CDT...0300Z...THE CENTER OF
  RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.6
  NORTH...LONGITUDE 87.2 WEST
• CHANCES OF.. HURRICANE PASSING WITHIN 65 NAUTICAL
  MILES OF LISTED LOCATIONS THROUGH 7PM CDT SAT SEP
  24 2005
• LOCATION
  LOCATION
• 25.5N 90.5W 43
  FREEPORT, TX
• 26.3N 92.4W 30
  PORT O CONNOR, TX
• 27.5N 94.2W 24
  CORPUS CHRISTI, TX

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Thursday Morning -- 9/224a.m. Advisory

• RITA HAS TURNED A LITTLE TO THE RIGHT DURING THE
  PAST SEVERAL HOURS AND THE INITIAL MOTION IS NOW
  285/8. ...DATA SHOWS A STRONG MID-LEVEL RIDGE
  CENTERED OVER TEXAS.. MODELS FORECAST THIS RIDGE
  TO SHIFT EASTWARD INTO..THE EASTERN GULF OF
  MEXICO DURING THE NEXT 48 HR. THIS SHOULD ALLOW
  RITA TO TURN MORE NORTHWARD WITH TIME. THE TRACK
  GUIDANCE IS NOW CLUSTERED AROUND A LANDFALL
  BETWEEN THE SABINE RIVER AND MATAGORDA TEXAS IN
  48-60 HR... THE NEW FORECAST TRACK IS ALSO
  SHIFTED EASTWARD ABOUT 30 N MI...CALLING FOR
  LANDFALL NEAR THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA AND GALVESTON
  BAY. HOWEVER...IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE NEW
  TRACK IS ALONG THE LEFT OR WEST SIDE OF THE
  ENVELOPE OF GUIDANCE.

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Thursday Morning -- 4 a.m.Forecast Map
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Thursday Morning Headlines

• SW La. Readies for Hurricane
• With a surging Hurricane Rita headed for the
  Texas coast, Southwest Louisiana officials began
  preparing for at least a glancing blow from the
  powerful Category 5 storm, which could bring
  tropical storm-strength winds and a substantial
  storm surge to the area.   
• People in Cameron Parish and low-lying areas of
  Calcasieu Parish were urged to evacuate due to an
  expected storm surge of up to 8 feet. Residents
  in mobile homes or other unsecured dwellings were
  urged to move to stronger structures because wind
  gusts here could reach 50 mph.    
• Power outages were likely, officials said, and
  local Entergy crews were recalled Wednesday from
  Texas and southeastern Louisiana and placed on
  standby.    
• Calcasieu and Cameron schools were closed for
  the rest of the week, and classes at McNeese
  State University were canceled.    
• Local officials began transporting Hurricane
  Katrina evacuees sheltered at the Lake Charles
  Civic Center and Burton Coliseum to shelters in
  Alexandria and Shreveport. Evacuees at the
  special-needs shelter on the McNeese campus were
  also moved.

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The Aftermath

• 650,000 homes in Louisiana without electricity
• Half a million people with no drinking water
  (three weeks)
• 403 million in housing assistance to homeowners
  and renters

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200,000 acres of fresh water and intermediate
marsh inundated with salt water.
In Cameron Parish, . . . the damage that was
inflicted was beyond comprehension to the coastal
communities of Cameron, Grand Chenier, Creole,
Holly Beach, Pecan Island and Vermilion
Parish David Richard Stream Property
Management
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The Response

• All emergency responders police, sheriff,
  firefighters, public works and medical personnel
  remained on the job.
• Public officials coordinated relief efforts.
• Residents who remained assisted in cleanup.
• Within 48 hours, FEMA and National Guard were
  distributing food, water and ice.
• FEMA and Red Cross began distributing emergency
  payments to evacuees.
• 20,000 electrical utility workers deployed to
  restore power.

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Role of Charitable and Non-profit Organizations

• American Red Cross 500,000 meals, 660,000
  snacks
• Salvation Army 223,000 hot meals and 131,000
  snacks 60,000 appliances and pieces of
  furniture 18,000 food boxes 4,300 personal
  comfort items 8,500 Wal-Mart gift cards 4,800
  Kroger gift cards 1,267 phone cards
• Fat Boys from the Civic Center 993,000 meals
  for Katrina/Rita
• Area churches, the synagogue and mosque also fed
  and sheltered victims and volunteers from all
  over the country.

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Restoration

• The petrochemical industry escaped serious
  damage, so most major employers in the area were
  able to continue operations and employees
  continued receiving paychecks.
• Notable exception Harrahs Riverboat Casino
  Complex (1,500 employees)

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Labor Shortage

• FEMA and other relief agencies hired workers for
  cleanup and reconstruction efforts at artificial
  salaries.
• Refineries and petrochemical plants had to
  increase wage scales by 4.00 per hour and offer
  sign-on bonuses.
• Many small businesses could not afford to pay
  higher wages and had to cut back on operations.
• For example, the local McDonalds chain brought
  in 60 workers from Romania

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Debris Removal

• By September 2006, FEMA had collected 8,523,181
  cubic yards of debris
• 2,050,000 trash trucks, placed end to end and
  side to side, would fill a 4-lane highway from
  New York to California
• Total cost - 232 million (as of June 2006)

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