With Hurricane Rita gaining strength on its path towards the Texas Gulf Coast in the US, the Bush administration is getting “ready for the worst.”
“We hope and pray that Hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm, but we got to be ready for the worst,” said Bush in a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition.
The National Hurricane Centre reported 21 September that Rita is now a level five hurricane with maximum sustained winds measured at 165 mph. The storm is expected to make landfall on the Texas Gulf coast on Saturday, but forecasters say it could instead hit Louisiana or northern Mexico.
Bush said that Federal, state, and local governments are coordinating their efforts to respond to Rita, urging citizens to comply with mandatory evacuation orders in New Orleans and Texas.
“I urge the citizens to listen carefully to the instructions provided by state and local authorities and follow them,” said Bush.
Lyda Ann Thomas, Mayor of Galveston, Texas, ordered her city’s residents to begin evacuating yesterday, making the move mandatory for nursing home residents. Over 1,500 of the city’s 60,000 residents have been bused out of Galveston so far, according to CNN.
The director of the Texas Office of Homeland Security said the state has planned to shelter 250,000 across the state but will be able to accommodate more than double that number.Houston Mayor Bill White today also told residents to begin moving from lower-lying areas of the city, with evacuation plans going into effect at 6 p.m. CDT, Frank Michel, communications director for White, told CNN.
Remaining Louisiana residents, specifically those near the Texas state line, were also ordered to evacuate by today.
