It’s 7 a.m. I awoke at 4 o’clock and slowly decided I would stay up. My first glance at the National Hurricane Center’s information on Rita showed what no one around the Upper Texas Coast wanted to see. That is Rita has taken a jog to the right and now is expected to make landfall around Bolivar Peninsula. At its closest that is only about 40 miles away. Obviously, the situation has changed.
A mandatory evacuation for Jefferson County was called an hour ago. It’s a staggered exodus with those in the southern part of the county leaving first and those of us in Beaumont able to leave around noon.
This presents me with an obvious quandary. I am on tap to provide coverage for a publication, yet I am still unsure just where I shall do that. Meteorologist James Brown on KFDM-TV Channel 6 this morning said the storm surge could be as much as 20 feet. I don’t know if flooding would be that bad at my apartment, in which I reside on the second floor of a two-story building. I am not too worried about storm surge but am concerned about wind because we will be receiving gusts of at least 70 mph. But a lot of rain is also likely. Tornadoes are also a distinct possibility. So I have pretty much decided to bail from my apartment. I am still trying to evaluate where I might go.
I had been looking at two separate buildings in which I might be able to stay since I will be working media, more or less. But both are downtown and closer to the Neches River than I would really like to be. I would think a big storm surge at both of these buildings, which are located in the same area, is quite possible.
My other possibilities include Newton or Jasper counties, both a bit north of here. I will just have to do some checking to determine my options. I have a lot to do. Time’s a-wasting! Head for the hills!