Last night before I went to bed, it was reported that traffic was at a standstill on I-10, from Houston, back as far as Lake Charles, LA, people all trying to head west. This morning, the traffic jam is reported to be over 100 miles long! That is beyond imagination, IMO. People have run out of gas on the interstate trying to evacuate, in what became a multi-lane parking lot.

If you ask me, TX should have implemented contraflow long before they did. And even though there are no motel rooms east of TX, they -and LA -should have had people head east and THEN north, that would have lessened the load on their highways heading west and north through Houston. Seems like driving further, like east and north to SC or NC or GA would have made more sense than sitting in a 100 mile parking lot with no way out for the better part of the day AND night.

What a mess! I cannot imagine the frustration and anger these folks must be feeling. And fear! How are they going to clear that before the weather starts to come in????? That thought just terrifies me.

By Colette on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 09:21 am:

and now a bus has exploded!


I just have a question, and it may be a stupid one, but are there not a lot of alternate routes you can take aside from the highway? back roads etc?

By Kaye on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 09:38 am:

No there really aren't a lot of back roads. To go west, there is one other hwy that mimics that road, distance wise it was at least 50-100 miles longer. I agree that contra flow should have been opened earlier, but I guess I wondered how they would do that. What keeps people from going the right way? I think it just take a LOT of man power. Also I think they thought the roads could take it, obviously they were wrong. BUT they did get them cleared as of this morning is what I have heard.

By Jann on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 10:50 am:

The orders for voluntary evacuation came for Houston at the same times as mandatory evacuation came for the the coastal towns east.

By Pamt on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 12:05 pm:

Plain and simply, interstates and other roads aren't meant to have MILLIONS of people all travelling the same way on them simulateneously. This is why there are always problems with evacuations and really I don't see anyway around it. It is a nightmare, which is why I can cancelled my 2 in-home speech therapy visits today and we are all home (no school) and not going anywhere!

By Janet on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 04:05 pm:

My nephew and his family spent 8 hours getting only 50 miles...and that was two days ago! They live just outside of Houston, and decided to turn around and go home (too much worry about gas availability). So they are hunkered down. I would be terrified, being stuck out there with the storm almost here...but then, I'm a Kansas gal, and hurricanes are outside my realm of comprehension. (I'm more used to the wham bam of tornadoes, not the slow, impending, get ready, here it comes of the hurricane..)

By Jann on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 07:34 pm:

The storm has made an eastern turn. Good news for Houston, but really horrible news for our friends in LA.