NEWS: Damn It, Mother Nature: Give Us a Break!

CULTURE: Damn It, Mother Nature: Give Us a Break!

I couldn't have been the only one who thought, while Ophelia was doing the "Hurricane or Tropical Storm" shuffle: at least it's not another Katrina. Guess that jinxed things up, 'cause now we've got Rita: a Category 2 hurricane that's recently been pounding the Florida Keys.

Thankfully, Key West residents have been taking evacuation orders more seriously than in the past. According to Mayor Jim Weekley, roughly half of the residents left previous to the arrival of the storm, leaving only 13,000 or so in the area. That's in contrast to a 25% evacuation in previous storms.

But that's the end of the good news. Not only is Rita making her way toward the Gulf Coast area -- with an expected landfall in Galveston, Texas by the end of this week, with possible diversion to Mexico or Louisiana -- she's expected to reach Category 4 status by Wednesday. This is a double-pronged problem as it not only presents the threat of a Katrina-force storm but also threatens areas already swelled with Katrina refugees.

Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas has already issued mandatory evacuation orders going into effect at 6 a.m. Wednesday for nursing homes and similar facilities, and at 6 p.m. for other areas of the city.

Louisiana is expected to suffer once again, too. Not only because of the storm effects -- some cable news broadcasts are stating that even three inches of rainfall could lead to several feet of flooding in already-devastated areas like New Orleans -- but because over 1,000 Texas National Guard troops are already being pulled out of the recovery efforts in preparation for the new storm, and the military is considering further withdrawls of troops and equipment if the storm stays on course. Even some of the existing shelters are at risk and are preparing to move.

As of the time of this writing the Florida counties of Dade and Monroe are already under tornado warnings, with the National Hurricane Center predicting 4-6 foot storm surges in the Keys and 2-4 foot surges in the southern coastal area of the state. President Bush has already declared emergency status for Florida, and the same status is now being requested for Louisiana.

I think that I speak for all of us when I say that our hopes are with those of you in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and the other threatened states, as well as those working in the service or as first responders. Make it through this safely.

We're not dicking around with Rita. My little brother is coming tomorrow to help prep for impact, then we're headed to Austin.

All the rest of my HTX brethren, both native and refugee: Stay strong. Come out all right on the other end, ya? God bless.

One of the sunday broadsheets here in the UK this week had a little illustration in it of a freeway full of SUV's all carrying American flags with Mother Nature in the background getting all pissy about it and summoning hurricanes to carry out revenge for her...

In all seriousness though, these hurricanes seem to be coming more and more frequently...

And at the same time we had three in the Atlantic (Ophelia, Phillipe, and a young Rita)...its a mad mad mad mad world...it good to see Texas is more prepared than ever...

I'm going to be glued to the television and phone for a few days.

Be safe, y'all.

move to the northeast, we just get snow...sometimes.

at 5:15 today the Forecasting service listed Hurricane Rita as a category five hurricane.

Usually you can see a pattern, you know? For instance, right now if you live on the Gulf Coast you're fucked. Last year was Florida. I remember a few years ago here in SC we were hit with three in a row (they may not all have been hurricanes at the same time but it was damn close). So know if you get hit with one, the greater chance you have of seeing two and three.

FIVE a fucking Cat 5?! I look at Ethernet cables for Cat 5, not hurricanes. I've never dealt with a five and never want to see a five. If I prayed my prayers are with you Texas, Lousiana. My thoughts definitely will be.

[Edited on Sep 21, 2005 8:32PM]

Mother Nature to Humanity: I'll give you a break when you give me a break.