Hurricane Rita plans

[Curt Arnold <ca...@apache.org>]

For those of you who are not familiar with my location within  
Houston, I would not expect my house to be subject to any tidal  
flooding short of asteroid impact, though in Houston any place is  
subject to flash flooding particularly if storm drains get blocked.   
My neighbors have had minor flooding (a few inches) in other heavy  
rain events when standing water has penetrated through seep holes.   
I'm getting everything I can out of the garage and off the floor.  I  
am a couple of blocks away from Buffalo Bayou, but only a few miles  
downstream from Baker Reservoir (30 sq miles or so of swampy lowlands  
ringed with levees that becomes a lake only after heavy rains) which  
should absorb the brunt of any runoff upstream.  I'm not in the 100  
year flood plane, but it does come within a block.  I have never  
heard any concerns about the levees failing, that would be extremely  
unpleasant but they only absorb runoff, not tidal surges, and would  
only be compromised from a prolonged period of near full conditions.

If Rita hits Matagorda Bay as a major hurricane, then my house would  
be well within the major wind damage/power outage area.  I have  
several very large trees around my house that would make a very  
unpleasant addition to the house if they decide to move.  I rent my  
house and am out of the lease, so would expect to vacate if there is  
any significant damage.

Barring any clear indication that Houston is not in Rita's travel  
plans, my plans are to hit the road Thursday mid-day and stay with a  
friend in Ft. Worth until the storm clears.  If Houston's power is  
out for an extended period, I'll stay with my sister in Tulsa until  
things are back to normal.  The amount of computers, monitors, books,  
etc I bring with me will depend on predicted path and strength of the  
storm.

I'm going to forward my carnold@houston.rr.com and my  
carnold@apache.org email address to curt.arnold@mac.com.  I'll  
continue to check all the accounts and I'd expect Time Warner to have  
co-location sites for the mail servers, but using the @mac.com  
address is recommended.

Mark Womack (mwomack@apache.org) has my cell numbers and contact person.