Rita Update:
Rita, as a Category 3 hurricane (120 mph) made landfall at 2:30 a.m. CDT today in extreme southwest Louisiana between Sabine Pass and Johnson’s Bayou, La. Port Arthur, Texas, clocked maximum wind gusts of 116 mph, while Beaumont, Texas, measured 105 mph. Cameron, La., reported a gust to 112 mph before the anemometer failed. Storm surge flooding of up to 15 feet probably occured just east of where the eye thundered ashore. Surge as high as 20 feet may have inundated locations at the heads of bays and adjacent rivers.
- [Rita Update:
Rita, as a Category 3 hurricane (120 mph) made landfall at 2:30 a.m. CDT today in extreme southwest Louisiana between Sabine Pass and Johnson’s Bayou, La. Port Arthur, Texas, clocked maximum wind gusts of 116 mph, while Beaumont, Texas, measured 105 mph. Cameron, La., reported a gust to 112 mph before the anemometer failed. Storm surge flooding of up to 15 feet probably occured just east of where the eye thundered ashore. Surge as high as 20 feet may have inundated locations at the heads of bays and adjacent rivers.
*]1 * Report from houston @ 10:30 am on 09/24/05 : Houston seems to have not been too badly hit with rain, minimal power outages and no known flooding. The downtown skyline seems uneffected (no missing glass, etc.) * Apparently, it was still serious enough to have caused wal-mart to close ~150 of their stores.
Meanwhile, Anti-War Protesters March in D.C. and London
Opponents of the war in Iraq rallied by the thousands Saturday to demand the return of U.S. troops, staging a day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead in marches through Washington and other cities in the U.S. and Europe.
More than 2,000 people gathered on the Ellipse hours before the showcase demonstration past the White House, the first wave of what organizers said would be the largest Washington rally since the war began. President Bush himself was out of town, monitoring hurricane recovery efforts from Colorado and Texas.
“We have to get involved,” said Erika McCroskey, 27, who came from Des Moines, Iowa, with her younger sister and mother for her first demonstration, traveling in just one of the buses that poured into the capital from far-flung places.
“Bush Lied, Thousands Died,” said one sign. “End the Occupation,” said another.