Countdown To Landfall: Actions Recounted As Hurricane Rita Approached
Release Date: September 19, 2006
Release Number: 1606-252
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Rita
AUSTIN, Texas -- Hurricane Rita began as a tropical disturbance east of the Turks and Caicos Islands on the evening of Sept. 17, 2005. As it moved west through the Caicos, it strengthened into a tropical storm on Sept. 18 before entering into the southern Bahamas. As it passed south of the Florida Keys on the afternoon of Sept. 20, Hurricane Rita began to intensify from a Category 1 storm into a Category 2 storm. However, upon entering the Gulf of Mexico, Rita tapped into a deep layer of very warm water located in the southeast part of the Gulf.
Rita continued to intensify into the evening of Sept. 21, reaching Category 5 status with maximum sustained winds recorded at 175 mph and the third lowest pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin.
Rita made landfall at 2:30 a.m. Sept. 24 as a Category 3 storm just east of Sabine Pass, bringing with it a 15-foot storm surge and up to 12 inches of rain. The storm’s precise target was largely unpredictable, but the strategies to prepare for its impact were focused and coordinated. The following is a countdown to Hurricane Rita illustrating the scope and enormity of the combined federal, state and local effort to ensure the safety of millions along the Texas Gulf Coast.
SEPT. 19, 2005
- Texas Governor Rick Perry recalls thousands of Texas National Guard Texas Task Force 1 and other emergency personnel and equipment from Louisiana in anticipation of Tropical Storm Rita entering the Gulf of Mexico.
State emergency management officials activate the State Operations Center, where weather situations are monitored continuously and multiple daily conference calls with local officials are held to assess needs and coordinate responses.
- FEMA and the entire federal government stand ready to assist state and local authorities by pre-positioning commodities and preparing to respond with critical personnel and supplies in the surrounding areas of potential landfall of the storm. FEMA mobilizes equipment and resources necessary to protect public health and safety by assisting law enforcement with evacuations, establishing shelters, supporting emergency medical needs, meeting immediate lifesaving and life-sustaining human needs and protecting property.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares to provide food supplies. Other emergency programs, such as food stamps, are ready to be activated.
- The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) deploys Defense Coordinating Officers and Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deploys HHS liaisons and another Emergency Response Team is staffed and ready to deploy.
- U.S. Public Health Service commissioned officers are placed on alert across the nation for possible deployment. The Strategic National Stockpile also is placed on alert and packages of medical supplies, material and Federal Medical Shelter equipment are readied for shipment if needed.
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security deploys a team to monitor the storm’s progress and coordinate federal activity.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air Division positions aircraft to conduct a Rapid Needs Assessment and to transmit imagery for post-hurricane assessments.
- The Private Sector Office establishes the National Emergency Resource Registry where companies can register resources they would like to donate or sell and those involved in the relief efforts can register the resources they need.
- The U.S. Department of the Interior closes national parks, national wildlife refuges and other Interior-managed national preserves, recreation areas and installations. Interior agencies secure facilities, evacuate employees from at-risk locations, and alert and deploy emergency assistance teams to areas likely to be affected by the storm.
- The U.S. Geological Survey puts into place a Field Response Team and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs coordinates with tribal governments in the vicinity to provide requested assistance.
- The Minerals Management Service works with state and local officials and energy
companies to secure offshore oil and gas platforms and onshore production facilities. - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration prepares to provide technical assistance to ensure the health and safety of workers involved in any potential rescue, recovery or rebuilding efforts.
SEPT. 20, 2005 - Evacuations begin in areas of Texas. FEMA, in coordination with the State of Texas, prepares to relocate Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Texas to get them out of the path of Hurricane Rita.
- Texas Army National Guard personnel temporarily move equipment from Houston to Austin in anticipation of Hurricane Rita. Gov. Perry requests 1,750 Army and Air National Guardsmen and women with expertise in rescue, medical, transportation, distribution of supplies, security and road clearing missions to pre-position themselves as Task Force Rita between Austin and San Antonio.
- Troops return from New Orleans to serve as “reserve” support forces if necessary. The Governor also requests the 500 Texas State Guard volunteers to provide shelter.
- The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) secures ports, moving some ships and tying down others. The USCG’s USS Dauntless leaves port and moves into position to follow the storm.
SEPT. 21, 2005
- Gov. Perry requests that Texas media — particularly those in coastal areas from Beaumont to Corpus Christi — broadcast that all private facilities responsible for the care of persons with special needs evacuate their patients immediately.
- The Governor authorizes the activation of up to 5,000 of the more than 10,000 National Guard personnel.
- The State of Florida releases FEMA's pre-positioned teams and assets and FEMA begins to move commodities to Texas. Kitchens are established capable of serving 300,000 meals, 500,000 snacks and 250,000 units of water per day.
- The U.S. Coast Guard pre-positions search and rescue, pollution response, and aids to navigation assets inland for post-storm response. It also issues an advisory to evacuate all oil rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico potentially in the path of the storm.
- The DHS Infrastructure Protection division works closely with private sector owners and
operators to ensure protective measures are underway at local critical infrastructure sites. - FEMA works with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to mobilize ambulances to provide support with medical evacuations. DOT also provides approximately 650 buses and assigns 13 refrigerator trailers, 10 shuttle drivers, one tanker of diesel fuel and six trucks of tarps to the region.
- • FEMA contacts DoD to provide five, two-person communication teams to deploy to the most heavily impacted areas to support response and recovery efforts, field hospitals to support 2,500 beds, field kitchen teams to set up feeding stations to feed victims, helicopters to move rescue teams and personnel to support isolated areas and temporary bridging capabilities to assist if roads are washed away.
- The American Red Cross confirms resources to deliver 750,000 meals a day after Hurricane Rita makes landfall.
SEPT. 22, 2005 - An aggressive recruitment campaign identifies civilian volunteers, including more than 200 physicians and 400 registered nurses who could be deployed.
- The USCG pre-positions six cutters to support search and rescue, command and control and waterways assessment. More than 400 additional Coast Guard personnel surge to support the response, and hundreds more are on alert.
- DoD assigns six heavy-lift helicopters for search and rescue support. DoD also makes available 2,000 active duty “security forces” such as military police.
- The Transportation Security Administration sends an additional 150 screeners to Houston to speed moving people through the airports to evacuate them from the city.
SEPT. 23, 2005
- FEMA pre-positions enough commodities for four days, including 45 truckloads of water, 45 truckloads of ice, and 25 truckloads of meals in Texas. In Louisiana, 140 truckloads of water, 120 truckloads of ice and 73 truckloads of meals are pre-positioned at federal facilities.
- More than 450 medical personnel and 17 Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, consisting of almost 900 personnel, are pre-positioned in Texas. Some 450 Urban Search and Rescue personnel are staged in Louisiana.
- The USCG has some 50 aircraft ready to respond to Rita and another 70 aircraft in the Pacific area on alert. Relief crews are being flown from Hawaii, Alaska, California, and the Pacific Northwest to staging locations.
- DOD provides boats and high-water vehicles to assist search and rescue task forces.
- More than 300,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen stand ready throughout the U.S. and its territories to respond to any crisis.
- By this date, the Texas National Guard has refueled 260 commercial buses with 25,000 gallons of fuel.
- The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality and the EPA continue to work with the chemical and refinery industry to secure and shut down plants.
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff monitors conditions at three nuclear power plants where tropical storm force winds and heavy rain are projected. Six additional inspectors provide around the clock coverage. NRC also readies to move radioactive medical and industrial materials.
- More than 3,000 patients are airlifted out of Beaumont by DoD.
- The Texas Department of Transportation makes bulk fuel deliveries to facilities along the evacuation routes and provides motorist assistance in the hurricane impact area.
- Texas pre-positions search and rescue personnel and mass care strike teams.
- The Red Cross has 54 shelters on standby.
- DoD evacuates more than 4,000 special needs patients from Beaumont, Houston and Lake Charles, La., to other states, providing water, medicine, and medical supplies and attention by medical personnel accompanying the aircraft.
- The entire U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) is activated, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assembles four teams to deploy after Hurricane Rita passes. USPHS establishes field medical shelters in College Station.
- FEMA has deployed thousands of personnel to support the response effort, and Rapid Needs Assessment teams are ready to move into impacted areas post Rita landfall.
- U. S. Northern Command is coordinating the military support effort for Hurricane Rita.
- The Strategic National Stockpile is on alert and ready to push packages of medical supplies and materials.
- The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) purchases more than 20 million pounds of canned meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables for disaster relief and to restock supplies.
- USDA, in cooperation with Texas officials, prepares food stamp waivers in anticipation of potential needs. Also, USDA streamlines services for Child Nutrition and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children programs.
- National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teams are ready to mobilize.
- The National Interagency Fire Center, comprised of specialists from eight federal and state agencies, pre-positions Incident Management Teams in areas affected by Hurricane Rita and mobilizes additional teams to respond as needed in support of first responders.
- More than 1.5 million citizens have been evacuated from projected impact areas along Texas and the Louisiana Gulf Coast, including Galveston, Houston, and New Orleans.
- Hurricane Rita’s arrival ultimately affects an area of 24,257 square miles in Texas and a population of 5,729,889 residents.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 19-Sep-2006 09:54:38