Houston / East Texas evacuations

[Sam Sagnella]

This evacuation is turning into a nightmare...seriously. Hundreds, if not thousands, of motorists are stranded on the highways due to gas shortages in the Houston area. KHOU.com is reporting that "Mayor White calls for 200 volunteers to load, deliver water to stranded motorists." This is quickly becoming an extremely serious problem.

I can't believe this is happening again....

 

[B Ozanne]

The only person to blame here is the media. The mayor never told these people to leave. Somehow the media heard evacuation and mandatory, the stories got passed around a few times and all of a sudden you've got a mandatory evacuation that was never ordered.

 

[Bobbi Andrzejek]

Originally posted by Colin P.McIntyre
Just learned from my brother inlaw that his brother just evacuated
Houston and is now heading for Dallas.

My brother works for Exxon as a geophysist (sp?). He and his wife have elected to stay in their home in Houston. They have boarded up thier windows. I sure wish they would have evacuated.

I also have a nephew "stuck" in a tin pole building (no utilities) with a few dozen other kids from a church group. Ignoring the approach of Rita, the church brought these kids down to help with Katrina clean up. They are located southwest of Lafayette (I won't even comment on how irresponsible that whole trip is/was given the circumstances). My sister, who is an insurance adjuster now working in NO, is scrambling to get to him. They will head north into Mississippi.

I am very worried for my family members ...

 

[Carrie Halliday]

Very good friends of mine are stuck on 45N. They left Friendswood 11 hours ago, they are at exit 90 near Conroe, headed for Dallas. A friend just called me from the Woodlands, 45N is not moving squat...even with Contraflow.

Took other friends of mine 11-15 hours to go up 290 from Clear Lake/Pasadena to Austin. They said the worst was getting through Houston, then up at Brenham where 6N branches off it got much better...until they hit Giddings. That itty town left their one and only stop light working so traffic gets stopped at intervals. Guess from there to Austin is flowing well (at least up until 7pm this evening).
Many of my friends think we should have left. I don't!

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Latest from Palestine, Texas --

At 8 pm US 287 inbound into the city was getting 1100 vehicles per hour (based on a 5-minute sample). I followed the traffic and noticed people were avoiding the US 287 split to Dallas and setting their sights on northeast Texas via TX 155 to Tyler. This tells me people are trying to get off I-45 at Huntsville (a logical decision) and head anyplace northeast via Crockett and Palestine. This also suggests I-45 is in dire straits, as these people would have been taking US 59 if they really wanted to go to NE Texas. Edit - on second thought, we are the best way to get to Tyler specifically.

I was out just now (11 pm) and there are lines at all the gas stations... cops are patrolling the entries. Fortunately gas is $2.61. Lots of vehicles with multiple passengers and boxes. Taco Bell and Wal-Mart are all packed.

Tim

 

[Colin P.McIntyre]

Brother inlaws brother still in Houston.Quoting my sisters e-mail.
(Anthony and his seven companion seminarians are unable to leave,
they tried all evening and day but most gas stations don't have gas and
when you do hit the freeway its a parking lot.)
The only thing i could tell her was to tell Anthony to get to a local
shelter now.All people afected by this hurricane are in my prayers.

 

[Carrie Halliday]

Our first death in the gridlock-Waller County (I-10). Heart attack and EMS had to work the car/person off at Brookshire but it was too late.
So sad. MANY are suffering heat stroke and dehydration. Most hospitals along the major routes are in Internal disaster mode (accepting no more patients).

This is nuts.

www.click2houston.com- live streaming media available

 

[Justin Turcotte]

Sitting at the office on a slow night looking at a map of Houston. I see several dozen roads that would get a person out of town and there are likely a significant number of local roads that would keep you moving in a less than direct fashion. Why is it that in every evacuation that everybody jumps on the freeway. Having lived in Minneapolis for years I know to stay off portions of the freeways on the more busy travel days and during construction. I do this by taking local routes that save me much time and headach.

I don't know what to think of the gas shortage. I guess with the cost of gas a lot of folks are simply running their cars toward empty until payday which is a week away for many of us. That said, this storm was on the radar since Sunday. On Sunday I told the old man that their could be another Cat 5 in the Gulf heading toward Houston. I would have wanted to have the simple preparation of obtaining gas completed as early as possible. Maybe if the gas stations were to charge standard rates for up to 10 gallons then double for anything more they could avert some of the hoarding. What some people call gouging I call conservation. Also note that a gas station without gas to sell does not attract customers to buy the spendy and more profitable stuff inside. Maybe a moot point since the place will shut down anyway.

Last note on this is I think a lot of people on high ground were evacuating too quickly clogging roads needed by the folks fleeing low-lying areas. I guess Katrina made a solid lasting impression. Not necessarily bad. I just hope that just becuase Houston is likely to be spared the worst ( despite the congested roads along with all the well reasoned media hype) that the residents are not complacent next time.

 

[Rob_Davis]

Sitting at the office on a slow night looking at a map of Houston. I see several dozen roads that would get a person out of town and there are likely a significant number of local roads that would keep you moving in a less than direct fashion. Why is it that in every evacuation that everybody jumps on the freeway.

I would imagine that it mostly has to do with those people's destinations. Some of them are going to stay with friends or family. Others are headed for a big city. But I'd be curious just how many of them have no idea where they are going, and are simply headed 'out of Houston!'

You gotta figure that of all those roads headed out, the only viable options are the ones that are westbound and northbound, so that cuts out half of your potential escape routes. With a good 2 million vehicles headed out of the area all at once, I figure even the farm roads are pretty well saturated too. An earlier post mentioned how in a small town there was bumper to bumper traffic and they were all disregarding the stop lights to keep the traffic moving.

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Looking at Houston Transtar, the freeways west and north are nearly deserted, the opposite of what was going on last night. The irony! Anyone leaving bright & early this morning gets smooth sailing and a whole leisurely day to do it. That is, assuming they have a full tank & some self-sufficiency.

It makes me wonder whether most Houston employers let people off yesterday. Thus thousands of people were simultaneously rounding up the family and packing up during the midday hours, then trying to hit the road all at once.

Tim

 

[Tim Vasquez]

I-45 north to Dallas:

US 290 northwest to Austin:

I-10 west to San Antonio/Austin