Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

And now, the full story… Yesterday, I learned of a new way to measure gasoline consumption. We left the house at 10:30 AM with a full tank. Six hours of mostly idling while the AC ran later, we were in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone for the kind words and offers of hospitality. I’m truly humbled by the outpouring of generosity so many of you have shown. Thank you all very, very much. I am cautiously … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We have arrived in Murphy. Our earlier estimate of 1 AM was optimistic by about three hours. Olivia’s awake, Harry’s a little freaked, and we’re all a bit frazzled, but we’re here and we’re safe. Thank you all very very … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Guest blogger Matt here – I just got off the phone with Tiffany, and all four Kuffners (including Harry) are on I-45 near Centerville (about 115 miles north of Houston), the traffic is clear, and they have enough gas to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We hope to be on the road within the next hour. Traffic on I-45 North in the area is moving at between 5 and 10 MPH right now, which is to say slower than Rita is. At least we’ve got … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Having taken Jay’s excellent advice to photograph everything in the house, I first had to download the existing pix off the digicam. This one was from last weekend at the in-laws. Bedtime comes early at that age, you know? I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just finished moving all of our outside stuff into the garage. There really ought to be a law against 95 degree weather in the days preceding a hurricane. I’m a “non-essential personnel” person at work, so I’m officially off till … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In declaring Texas a disaster area as part of the preparation for Hurricane Rita, Rick Perry’s spokeswoman Kathy Walt said: “FEMA has already been part of this. They have offered whatever support we need,” Walt said. “Texas is not Louisiana. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

SciGuy: If today began with a glimmer of hope for Houston, it has ended rather poorly. The evening’s last update for Hurricane Rita shows a powerful category-4 hurricane, with 145 mph winds, coming ashore between Matagorda and Freeport. If anything, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Up to a million people might need to evacuate from the city of Houston, says Mayor White. For point of reference, that’s about half the population of Houston. “I’d like to ask all Houstonians to begin thinking about their own … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The voluntary evacuation of Galveston, which was announced yesterday, is in full swing. Galveston may no longer be the most likely target for Hurricane Rita, but the island remains well within the danger zone and the city has begun a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The forecast for where soon-to-be-Hurricane Rita will hit the Gulf Coast has – for now – shifted westward. Keep packing that suitcase and hold off on a sigh of relief, but the National Hurricane Center’s latest official forecast names the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is what I call not taking any chances. Activating its emergency management plan this afternoon, Galveston asked residents to voluntarily leave in preparation of Rita, which is a tropical storm now but is expected to strengthen into a hurricane … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Great. This is just what we need. Rita, which strengthened Sunday into a tropical storm, had sustained wind of 65 mph by late morning, up from 60 mph earlier in the day, and could be a Category 1 hurricane by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

McGonegel’s Mucky Duck will be having a benefit concert for Katrina relief on Sunday, October 2: Join us at the Mucky Duck on Sunday, October 2nd for an evening of great music, great art, great food and drink — all … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There were many shocking photographs taken during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Chron had three that generated a large response from its readership. The readers wanted to know what happened to the people in those pictures. Here’s what they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s a fine line between self-promotion and shamelessness. I’ve read this story several times now and I still can’t decide which side of the line Bob McNair falls on. Texans owner Bob McNair hopes Houston’s response to the Hurricane Katrina … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This story about the director of Covenant House in New Orleans bringing her kids to Covenant House in Houston is a good one. Note especially how the kids are handling it. Soon the majority of the New Orleans people had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I had the opportunity yesterday (thanks to Melissa Noriega) to get a tour of the evacuee shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center. I met with Terence Fontaine, who is on Mayor White’s Executive Staff as Deputy Chief of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Texas officials are getting good poll reviews for their efforts in dealing with Katrina evacuees, with Houston Mayor Bill White leading the way. The poll of 501 Harris County residents was conducted Friday-Sunday. The sampling error is plus or minus … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rick Noriega. The man is amazing. Noriega, who returned to Texas from Afghanistan Aug. 2, had been trying to make dinner plans with Mayor Bill White when he got a call from the mayor’s office on Aug. 31. “I’m thinking … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just a roundup of recent experiences of bloggers who’ve volunteered at evacuee shelters: Perry sees a dichotomy. Hope feels overwhelmed, while her coblogger Eileen reports some happy news. Ray came down with a cold; he also has some happy news, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m not seeing nearly as many alerts for volunteers and/or donations to Katrina victims these days. That’s good, in the sense that much of the immediate crisis of ensuring everybody is alive, fed, and healthy has been dealt with, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

More on the Texas Congressmen who voted against the aid package for Katrina victims: Here’s Shane Sklar giving it to Rep. Ron Paul in the Baytown Sun. Sklar says Paul’s ideology alienates him from the rest of Congress, which hurts … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following is another report from the George R. Brown Convention Center by Melissa Noriega, sent to me on Saturday morning. Here’s the first report, which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it already. Last week went by in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, for better or worse, Kuff has left the keys to the massive “Off the Kuff” mansion while he’s otherwise preoccupied. So in the spirit of the blog, I’ll add a few tidbits that fall within the blog’s niche. First … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Possibly the least surprising news yet in the Hurricane Katrina story. The Missouri attorney general, Jay Nixon, filed a lawsuit this afternoon against InternetDonations.org, the hub for a constellation of Web sites erected over the last several days purporting to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

After the nice things I said about Governor Perry earlier, it kind of restores my faith to see a story like this. Gov. Rick Perry, in hurricane relief tours around the state, in news releases and on his official state … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Today is the 105th anniversary of the Galveston hurricane, which killed 8000 people in 1900. To commemorate the occasion, Galveston’s Judge Susan Criss has written the following open letter to the Katrina evacuees here: Dear Visitors from Louisiana, Mississippi & … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Kevin Drum cites another example to bolster his thesis of George Bush as a bad CEO. As Rick Casey tells us, Houston Mayor Bill White is the gold standard for CEOs-turned-politician. It’s the unsung quality in political leadership, a pedestrian … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following came via email from Michelle Harris, David Harris’ wife, on behalf of the Fort Worth Police Department: Officer Tom Wiederhold, one of our FWPD L.E.E.A.N coordinators, has spoken with Lt Carol Aldridge, Commander of Dist 2, New Orleans … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ray in Austin continues to be a great resource for Katrina information. Here’s an introduction to the people of South Louisiana, and here’s a vow that Mardi Gras will go on. Hope and Eileen spent some time at the Austin … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Dwight, a simple and elegant way to help evacuees and their loved ones find each other: Let them keep their old phone numbers. Is it too much to ask Bell South to: Let displaced account holders log in and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Melissa Noriega is the wife of State Rep. Rick Noriega. She served as State Rep for their district in his place this session while he was serving in Afghanistan with the Texas Army National Guard. She sent me the following … Continue reading → Continue reading →