Michael Stravato for The New York Times
On a beach in Galveston, a Texas A&M graduate student held a pole Wednesday that measured 18 feet, the height of the sea wall there.
Heeding the lessons of Hurricane Katrina, the authorities in Galveston ordered all residents to leave the city immediately and tried to evacuate the city's hospitals and nursing homes with buses, ambulances and helicopters. Businesses and public buildings covered windows with plywood, and the Strand, the central business district, was virtually empty by Wednesday afternoon.
"Coastal Texans should not wait until late Thursday or early Friday to leave," Gov. Rick Perry said. "Homes and businesses can be rebuilt. Lives cannot."
Over little more than 24 hours, Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 5 storm as it cleared the Florida Keys and passed over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Rita had winds near 175 miles per hour, putting it at the highest measurable level.
Hurricane Katrina had briefly reached Category 5 strength as it approached the Gulf Coast, but it weakened a notch before slamming into Louisiana and Mississippi on Aug. 29. The death toll from that storm passed the 1,000 mark on Wednesday.
On a beach in Galveston, a Texas A&M graduate student held a pole Wednesday that measured 18 feet, the height of the sea wall there.
Heeding the lessons of Hurricane Katrina, the authorities in Galveston ordered all residents to leave the city immediately and tried to evacuate the city's hospitals and nursing homes with buses, ambulances and helicopters. Businesses and public buildings covered windows with plywood, and the Strand, the central business district, was virtually empty by Wednesday afternoon.
"Coastal Texans should not wait until late Thursday or early Friday to leave," Gov. Rick Perry said. "Homes and businesses can be rebuilt. Lives cannot."
Over little more than 24 hours, Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 5 storm as it cleared the Florida Keys and passed over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Rita had winds near 175 miles per hour, putting it at the highest measurable level.
Hurricane Katrina had briefly reached Category 5 strength as it approached the Gulf Coast, but it weakened a notch before slamming into Louisiana and Mississippi on Aug. 29. The death toll from that storm passed the 1,000 mark on Wednesday.
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