My folks live northeast of Houston, about 60 miles inland. I’m naturally anxious that Rita is heading in that direction. When I called, I could hear the TV news on in the background alternating between how crowded the freeways are and the storm’s upgrade to category five. My parents are planning to stay, not that they’d be able to get out with the traffic as it’s been. They’ve been clearing the yard of potential debris and have also extended an invitation to their friends living closer to the coast and Houston ship channel to hang out a few days until the storm blows over.
Update: September 25, 6:30am: Electricity, phones, cell , cable, etc service is out. No serious damage, though they are considering retrofitting their place with something heavier/more solid.
Ditto my parents, who, like you parents, are probably far enough inland to not worry about water.
As they are saying: Flee from the water, hide from the wind. So if they are not in a flood or surge zone, they should be okay if trees and debris don’t get in the way.
I just got a call from my son in Austin, TX. Seems that folks there are clearing the supermarkets of bread, sugar, juice, bottled water, etc. in anticipation of Rita. This is in spite of being another 162 miles inland from Houston.
A lot of tragedies are afecting me, as well. Times are not healthy… I’m not at B$, anymore, Jim, but I’d love if you visit my little corner (blog). Tender***
Hope your parents are OK. Reports we heard today suggest Rita avoided Houston and was less powerful than expected. Hope that is so. R & S
My dad lives in Plano. All quiet on the Dallas front.