Current conditions in Houston
 

I am hoping our posters from Houston can answer a couple of questions, please. A guy at my office got a call today from his sister in Houston who said she is having trouble finding a place to fill up the car. She said many of the gas stations are sold out. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

I have also heard the traffic is much worse than usual, and of course, I can believe it. We have a Fodorite whose husband is staying in the port of Houston, buy flying home tomorrow from IAH. This concerns me because that's such a long drive and I was told that I-45 is bumper to bumper. Can anyone make a guess at how long this drive will be? I am tempted to suggest that he should stay tonight at a hotel near IAH, that is, if he can get a room.

You input will be valuable to anyone who is in the process of leaving Houston. To all in Rita's path, I will be thinking of you and please be safe. Thanks.

P_M, Not Houston obviously, but I just came in here in San Antonio, and there are long lines at all the gas stations here! I was astounded. Not that people are thinking of evacuating here, but I believe the thinking is that gas is going to be scarce so they'd better get it while they can! What have you seen around Austin?

Hi, OO. I have not heard of any stations in Austin running out of gas, but many people here have expressed concern that the price of gas will go up after the hurricane, so they are filling up today. My friend's sister eventually did get gas, but she had to check several places first.

My husband was able to get gas, but he said he couldn't believe the lines at the ATM. P_M, he thinks the traffic won't be a problem as much because the airport is in the "other direction" (away from Austin). Now that may just be a "let's not scare her" line. Hope not. No rooms at the airport hotel - no surprise there.

Hmmmm.....I hope he's right.

My family is in Houston (and my Mom is in an Alzheimer's facility there) adn I just heard from my sisters. One of them said it took her four hours to get home from the Medical Center to West Houston at 2 pm this afternoon- it should have been a 45 min. drive at non-rush hour. And she said the gas stations on the hwys. leading out of Houston are running out of gas.

I saw on the news that people without cash on them could not get cash from ATM's as the ATM's had evidently run out of cash.

Again, always try to fill up your gas tank when it gets to 1/2 full. And please, keep cash in your house. Don't count on always being able to get cash at an ATM.

Be prepared!

Oh it has been lot of fun with palpable anxiety. Yes many gas stations seem to be out of gas, although you can get gas if you are willing to wait in line. Traffic by my house was gridlocked all day but has thinned a bit this evening. It was VERY hot today, about 100 degrees at my home. Not fun to think about what it will be like if/when power is lost.

We are resigned to riding out the storm as we at least don't live in an evacuation area/100 year flood plain. The worst part is that even if you do want to leave, there do not seem to be hotel rooms to be found without venturing to Arkansas, Oklahoma, or towards Abilene, and the storms projected path takes it north where flooding may be a problem. Then there is the highway gridlock to contend with. Simply put there is no easy escape and you will have to go long way to get there. I expect this is true for a lot of Floridians when they have a storm too. I have to admit that this storm right on Katrina's heels after Florida's experiences sure makes me wonder what is up with the weather.

My parents are looking to move from Florida after three years there. Winter weather may be drag further north, but the anxiety of recent weather events is taking its toll. If weather patterns change and every year starts to be like the last two it would seem to me that a lot of people will get tired and move on if they can.

Pamela - Sorry for finding this thread late. Well, traffic is indeed terrible. I came home from work at around 3pm, and the West Belt (Sam Houston Tollway/Beltway 8) was packed going northbound.

Traffic report also says I-45 heading north is horrendous. Like 4-5 hours to hit Conroe. Which is not surprising - even on a regular weeknight, it's bad heading up to Conroe as I-45 squeezes from 5-6 lanes to 2.

US59 Eastex Freeway is better leaving town. I'd think I-10 West Katy Freeway would be bad too, towards Austin/San Anton.

Traffic coming out from Galveston is also bad. They're doing a 3-stage mandatory evaucation, but the number of people need to be moved is a lot. Not just Galveston, but places all the way up to Friendswood near NASA. I-45 North, TX146 are both bad.

I think IAH will be quite a mess tomorrow, as CO and others will likely wind down flights on Friday, so tomorrow is basically the last chance to fly out.

I suggest people to stay off the freeways. There are plenty of secondary roads (the FM farm roads) all over SE Texas that are quite passable, at least for now. This is unlike some parts of the country where secondary roads go nowhere. Not so here.

I wonder if Bellairegirl is going to ride out the storm in her house. She hasn't been posting much since the GTG. I went through Alicia in my home in Bellaire, camped out in the interior hallway with my dog and supplies. WHen the phone and lights went out and it realy started to howl it was very scary. I think we were without power for 3 days and I recall alot of flooding at the underpasses. But this one is more powerful.
Take care, rkkwan, Bellairegirl, and all the other Houstonians.

I am in Dallas, on my home to LA later.The local ABC station interviewed a couple from Clearlake.The drive took 12 hours bumper to bumper.The report also said 20,000 rooms filled up in Dallas overnight.There are none left.My TA is looking for something, anything for a client looking to get out of Houston.All he has found so far was San Angelo.The Front Desk just called to inquire about my departure time.They have an exhausted family waiting for a room.I'm outa here.Strange, looking out over the Dallas skyline,it is eerie.A violet haze,clear blue sky bright sun.They are predicting 101D today.

Our son, who lives in Houston, called last night to say he could not get gas. Most stations were out and the ones that had gas had very long lines.

Thanks, everyone. I just now talked to my dad who is leaving Houston at this very moment. He is bringing some other family members, so we will host 6 relatives this weekend here in Austin. I told him what I read on this thread and suggested they take back roads. They know it will be a long day of driving. Thankfully they got gas yesterday.

A friend just informed me that I-10, I-45, and 290 will become one-way as of 9am. Can anyone confirm?

P_M

Here is the link to TX Department of Transportation with lots of traffic info including evacuation routes and outbound only roads. Hope it helps.

http://www.dot.state.tx.us/

Yes:
http://www.txdot.state.tx.us/

Thank you both for the link, it is very helpful.

They're moving the barriers on I-45 right now at FM1488, just south of Conroe. US290 and I-10 will be AFTER they've done with I-45. It's going to be a long day.

The most recent projected path has the hurricane moving east again, and will pass through between Galveston Bay and Port Arthur. Houston will be on the "weak" side of the storm and damage won't be as severe if the current track holds.

People are also finally figuring out US59 South towards Victoria. I've been telling everybody that's a way to go if they want to. But now, it's backed up to Beltway 8. Like other freeways, the problem is that these freeways narrow from 5-6 lanes to 2. For Southwest Freeway, that's in Sugarland just past Highway 6.

One reported "good" route is US90A to head NE. However, Port Arthur and Beaumont will be evacuating, so traffic in E. Texas will be getting worse.

Right now, I'll definitely go SW from Houston to get out. Even go South first, and then SW. That'll be mostly against the traffic for a while.

I just saw on the news, where an evacuee had traveled only 40 miles in 13 hours in the heavy traffic...wow.....not sure which highway it was...

At that rate, people could be stuck in their cars when the storm hits.

I just got in touch w/dad after many attempts, as circuits are busy. They left at 7:30am, (8:30 Fodor time) and are still nowhere near getting out of Houston. They're not even on the highway yet. They are somewhere near Mason and Westheimer.

Just want Houston and Texan fodorites to know that you are on the prayer list at St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Thomaston, GA. Drive carefully, and God be with you!

P_M: Westheimer (FM1093) is a good route to get out. Much better than I-10 right now. I think they'll make good progress further west.

I'm glad to hear that, rk, thanks.

Most of my neighbors here in Katy have decided to stay. Venturing out to the highway right now is a nightmare (as mentioned by all here). I gave up trying to get gas yesterday, as the lines were huge. There are no lines today, as there is no gas! The grocery stores are all but empty. No ice, no water, no batteries to be seen! It's all pretty crazy. Anyone thinking about leaving should probably wait a while (too late now if you are on the highway...). My neighbors are planning on going to Dallas, but will wait until later today. We are all just hoping for the best.

My sister emailed that her daughters and their families tried to get out early this morning. They went 5 miles in 5 hours and didn't even get on the Hwy. They said people were going the wrong way on roads, going across medians, running out of gas, cars overheating, etc. A total mess. They turned around and went home. But when one of my nieces got home after that long in the car, they found out their area is now under mandatory evacutation, so they got back in the car to go to her sister's house in North Houston. No telling how long that trip will take.

My family has now been driving 22 hours and they are not here yet. I called and they are still on I-10, about 3 miles from Hwy. 71. They are so tired, and I am sick about this.

I realize nobody can help us, but thanks for letting me vent.

Oh my goodness! I am sick to hear that PM. Please, please, let me know when they arrive at your house.

It really is too bad that it took this sort of thing to figure out Houston's storm evacuation plan doesn't work.

No reasonable and sensible evacuation plan will work after Katrina. I was here in 1983 when Alicia, a Category 3 storm, hit Houston head-on. No massive exodus that time. Yes, the people along the coast and in eastern Harris County needs to leave - no question about that.

But a lot of people on the roads are people in Houston or western suburbs <b>who don't live in flood zones, whose house is new and in great shape, who is not ill or elderly.</b> But they are all on the road. Why? It's because Katrina hit just 3 weeks ago, and Houstonians have been watching news about that 24/7 for 3 weeks, and have scared themselves to death.

That include several of my own relatives - they leave around 4am yesterday, and didn't get to Austin until after 7pm, via I-10 and TX71.

When a huge population started to follow their emotions rather than common sense, no evacuation plan is going to work.

You are so right rkkwan, so many people just did not need to leave. Live and learn, I guess. I'm sure that we'll all learn things not to do when this all comes up again....

On another thread a poster responded that &quot;if you live in a city, you know the side roads.&quot; Well, I guess Houston woke up and said hit the 45! That would be the more logical explanation rather than sitting down and mapping out a strategy.

How many people in Houston actually has a map or road atlas for roads in SE Texas in their car?

And evacuation is definitely not without risk. Just look at the bus that caught on fire SE of Dallas. 24 people died. And they were evacuated from Bellaire, not Galveston, not Clear Lake. Bellaire! From a very established and well-built nursing/assisted living home.

I'm sorry, but I think those people don't have to be evacuated, and they don't have to die, period.

My relatives have just arrived. It was a 27 hour drive. I'm relieved they made it, as it's very dangerous to drive while drowsy.

rkk...You are absolutely correct.

Not arguing that hysteria isn't rampant, but this should certainly be a wake-up call that just establishing evacuation routes isn't enough -- you need traffic management (I didn't see any state police presence in any of the TV coverage), fuel management, etc. etc.

But having said that, I don't think it's fair at all to condemn the fleeing people, no matter where they came from. A category 5 hurricane is a lot worse than a category 3, and it's not just images of Katrina but of, for example, Homestead Fla after Andrew that remind us what wind can do, never mind rain, never mind spin-off tornadoes.

You can't ever be sure what a hurricane will do, but we do know that Rita has a lot of rain, too, and 22&quot; of rain would be catastrophic well inland, never mind storm surge. Similarly, no one ever expected the eye of Hurricane Fran to remain intact as far as 200 miles inland, either, but it did, and there were gusts up to 100 MPH, tornadoes and microbursts that did tremendous damage far away from landfall.

Finally, when you have enormously destructive events like this (including icestorms, earthquakes, etc.), infrastructure just collapses, even if your home is in one piece and your yard is dry. You can face weeks without water, power, decent sewage removal, food supply to the stores, gas to the gas stations, etc. etc. etc.

If you really want to stick around in a pre-industrial world waiting for help, or if you have no choice but to stay, that's not necessarily a better or smarter option than fleeing.

Well said, Cassandra. I agree 100%.

Well, I wouldn't mind at all if citizens and taxpayers of the whole United States decide that evacuation of whole metropolitans of 4-5 million people is the way to go.

That will mean billions of dollars to widen freeways, expediate upgrading of US59 to I-69, etc... Hey, I'm for it, if that's going to be the standard procedure when a strong hurricane approaches.

And how about keeping a whole fleet of fuel trucks all along the evacuation route to give people free fuel? Who's going to pay for the upkeep of a fleet like this when Rita is the first time in TX history such a evacuation happens?

Unfortunately, Katrina hit only 3 weeks ago. We don't have the time to even <b>imagine</b> the process of doing that.