Preparation means plenty for Galveston and Houston residents
Kathryn Jones
Issue date: 10/5/05 Section: News
Leigh Christensen and her husband Jake were in Galveston, Texas, when the word came that they were going to be hit by a hurricane--a hurricane that was estimated to reach a level 5.
When hearing of Hurricane Rita, and the option to leave, the first thought that came to Leigh's mind was, when? Leigh was unsure. Both she and her husband were born and raised in Utah.
"We had no experience," she said. "We didn't know when to leave."
Leigh, who works at an insurance company and her husband Jake, who is currently attending medical school, watched the news. When a mandatory evacuation was issued on Wednesday, Sept. 21, "it was time," Leigh said. "We knew we had to leave."
Leigh remembers how the people living in New Orleans had left their homes only to discover at their final destination point that they didn't have any of their important papers. She did not want this to happen to them.
Quickly she and her husband made a list, gathered their Social Security cards, other important papers, keepsakes and clothes, and left their apartment.
"We didn't have the means of supplies," Leigh said, speaking of the lack of materials they would need to keep their place safe. "The landlord wouldn't take care of boarding up the place. He called us just as we were leaving and said that we would have to take care of it. There was nothing we could do."
Leigh said that it was because of Katrina that she and her husband felt better prepared than they would have had the knowledge of Katrina not been there. She stated that they still could have been better prepared, "especially because of Katrina."
Dallas Franklin, resident of Houston, Texas, was "busy getting everything in order," before Rita hit. He said he was grateful that "Rita moved further east, taking the stress off Houston."
"Today, we're putting everything back in order here at home," he said. We are "thankful to be here as we are."
Hurricane Rita, expected to reach a level 5 in destruction, came into the boarders of Texas and Louisiana at category 1, creating an estimated $2.5 billion to $5 billion dollars in losses according to the Reuters Foundation as compared to the 35 billion the New York Times said was lost to residents of Hurricane Katrina.
Ninety-five percent of Galveston Island heeded the warning to leave according to CNN. Plans were "implemented," and the many residents heeding the mandatory evacuation "saved" them from danger.
Though we "got off fairly well, our biggest issue [was] power," said Galveston City Manager, Steve Lablanc as quoted on CNN.
As of Saturday, 75 percent of Galveston residents had no power. Power lines and trees covered the streets, and high winds, floods and fires forced many people in both Houston and Galveston to stay put-away from their homes, if need be, until it was safe to return.
As for Leigh and her husband, Jake, they are temporally living in Utah, waiting for the word to return home.
When hearing of Hurricane Rita, and the option to leave, the first thought that came to Leigh's mind was, when? Leigh was unsure. Both she and her husband were born and raised in Utah.
"We had no experience," she said. "We didn't know when to leave."
Leigh, who works at an insurance company and her husband Jake, who is currently attending medical school, watched the news. When a mandatory evacuation was issued on Wednesday, Sept. 21, "it was time," Leigh said. "We knew we had to leave."
Leigh remembers how the people living in New Orleans had left their homes only to discover at their final destination point that they didn't have any of their important papers. She did not want this to happen to them.
Quickly she and her husband made a list, gathered their Social Security cards, other important papers, keepsakes and clothes, and left their apartment.
"We didn't have the means of supplies," Leigh said, speaking of the lack of materials they would need to keep their place safe. "The landlord wouldn't take care of boarding up the place. He called us just as we were leaving and said that we would have to take care of it. There was nothing we could do."
Leigh said that it was because of Katrina that she and her husband felt better prepared than they would have had the knowledge of Katrina not been there. She stated that they still could have been better prepared, "especially because of Katrina."
Dallas Franklin, resident of Houston, Texas, was "busy getting everything in order," before Rita hit. He said he was grateful that "Rita moved further east, taking the stress off Houston."
"Today, we're putting everything back in order here at home," he said. We are "thankful to be here as we are."
Hurricane Rita, expected to reach a level 5 in destruction, came into the boarders of Texas and Louisiana at category 1, creating an estimated $2.5 billion to $5 billion dollars in losses according to the Reuters Foundation as compared to the 35 billion the New York Times said was lost to residents of Hurricane Katrina.
Ninety-five percent of Galveston Island heeded the warning to leave according to CNN. Plans were "implemented," and the many residents heeding the mandatory evacuation "saved" them from danger.
Though we "got off fairly well, our biggest issue [was] power," said Galveston City Manager, Steve Lablanc as quoted on CNN.
As of Saturday, 75 percent of Galveston residents had no power. Power lines and trees covered the streets, and high winds, floods and fires forced many people in both Houston and Galveston to stay put-away from their homes, if need be, until it was safe to return.
As for Leigh and her husband, Jake, they are temporally living in Utah, waiting for the word to return home.
