Sep 21 - Hurricane Rita raised to Category 5 storm (same as Hurricane Katrina)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092100297.html

KEY WEST, Fla., Sept. 21 -- Hurricane Rita quickly intensified into a monster Category 5 storm Wednesday, churning in the Gulf of Mexico with winds of up to 165 mph toward the Texas coast after slapping the Florida Keys.

In an update to an earlier advisory, the National Hurricane Center said this afternoon that reconnaissance aircraft showed Rita has reached the strongest hurricane category, with sustained winds of 165 mph. A Category 5 hurricane has winds over 155 mph.


Dean Hutton, left, and Jonathan Edgar sit in a bus stop shelter as the ocean waves crash around them in Key West, Fla.
Dean Hutton, left, and Jonathan Edgar sit in a bus stop shelter as the ocean waves crash around them in Key West, Fla. (J. Pat Carter -- AP)
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/nation Rita Churns Toward Texas
Hurricane Rita slapped at Key West on Tuesday before strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico, where it appeared to be veering away from New Orleans, but still forced the evacuation of 7,000 of Louisiana's Katrina evacuees from Texas.
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Post.com's Zamora in Galveston.
Updated 11:20 a.m. ET

washingtonpost.com's Amanda Zamora reports from Galveston, Tex. on the scene as hurricane Rita heads toward the Texas coast.
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This morning, Rita's winds were clocked at 140 mph, making it a Category 4 hurricane.

Mandatory evacuations were underway in coastal Galveston, Tex., flood-ravaged New Orleans and parts of Houston. Although the hurricane was veering away from New Orleans, it still forced the evacuation of 7,000 of Louisiana's Katrina evacuees from Texas. And officials in New Orleans warned that as little as three inches of rain could swamp the city's damaged levees, according to the Associated Press.

In Washington, President Bush declared states of emergency in Texas and Louisiana as Rita approached.

The acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, outlined a massive effort to pour military equipment and provisions into Texas ahead of the hurricane's landfall.

R. David Paulison said FEMA has asked the Defense Department for six heavy-lift helicopters, a 2,500-bed hospital system, a food kitchen to serve at least 500,000 meals and temporary bridging equipment for roads washed out by flooding. The helicopters will assist an urban search and rescue effort and help move supplies where they are needed, he said.

In addition, FEMA is working with the Department of Transportation to mobilize buses to evacuate people and is putting in place "a large number of ambulances . . . in case we have injuries there," Paulison said. About 400 disaster medical personnel are already in Texas, along with dozens of truckloads of food and water, he said.

"We are comfortable that Texas is going to be ready for this storm," said Paulison, who took office after Michael D. Brown resigned as FEMA director under heavy criticism for his performance during Hurricane Katrina. "It's not going to be fun."

Rita is "a huge storm," Paulison added "It covers most of the Gulf. We want to make sure we're ready. I'd rather pre-deploy more assets than we need than not have enough."

President Bush used a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition to urge people in the hurricane's path to comply with the evacuation orders.

"We hope and pray that Hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm but we got to be ready for the worst," Bush said in his speech to the Jewish group. "I urge the citizens to listen carefully to the instructions provided by state and local authorities and follow them."

hope not to much people get hurt

*prepares to move to Canada*

Same thing that happended a few weeks ago is going to happend again.

USA is not going to be a superpower in a few decades if this keeps on going on every year, were loosing billions in damages.

Part 2...

katrina wasnt a cat 5 it was cat 4 when it hit land
this could be huge

*is leaving tomorrow night*

where is this acutally hitting?

I heard on CNN and like the Weather Channel that Katrina was actually only a category 3 when it hit New Orleans. This Rita one could be twice as powerful as Katrina. But this time i doubt the hurricane will be nearly as deadly, because there's barely any people even in New Orleans right now.

Get ready for the Encore ,this time is Hitting Texas though,hopefully thiers not too many deaths. "The end is near"