Evacuee Bus Explodes Outside Dallas

11.20 AM PDT - Prior coverage.

A bus carrying elderly evacuees exploded south of Dallas on Interstate 45 early Friday morning, closing the highway. News reports of deaths range from 20-25. People who had not left Houston by mid-day Thursday were advised to stay put. Gasoline stations ran out of fuel; it took hours to move only a few miles.

On Friday, Houston, the fourth-largest US city (metro population: 4 million), was deserted: stores are closed and roads are empty.

Traffic, Traffic, Everywhere, As Far As The Eye Can See
10.00 PM PDT - Prior coverage.

In one direction, anyway. Traffic out of Houston was so bad Thursday that Mayor Bill White began urging residents who do not live in flood prone areas to ride out the storm in order to relieve pressure on the highways. The New York Times reports that 2.5 million people are trying to evacuate the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coast, causing unprecedented traffic jams.

Unlike New Orleans, Houston did not have plans to reverse inbound lanes to ease the crush of vehicles leaving Houston (see photo); officials concede that evacuation plans did not anticipate this volume of traffic. Mayor White has asked the military to help deliver gasoline to stranded drivers; there are news reports of crawling at 1 mph for hours on end. Hotels are full all the way to the Oklahoma or Arkansas state line, so some are turning around and heading home -- they don't want to be in the open when the storm hits.

Adding to the stress: Wednesday set a new record of 100 degree heat. Thursday was in the 90s. Cars overheat, passengers swelter in the heat and humidity.

In Texas
Houston is about 50 miles inland, but is a flat, sprawling city ribboned with concrete. In addition, it is home to seven bayous. Scientists are concerned that storm surge could cause the bayous to flood low parts of the city, primarily the homes of poorer and Hispanic residents. These bayous flood during thunderstorms, according to the CBC.

By late Thursday, Galveston (pop 58,000) was a ghost town. The question is this: have its residents made it to safety, to points north, or are they stuck in the hundred-mile long parking lots that once were highways?

Whether the storm hits Galveston or further north, the nation and the environment faces a huge risk: there are 87 chemical plants and petroleum facilities representing more than one-fourth of U.S. refining capacity in the path of the storm.

In Louisiana
Residents of southwestern Louisiana (300,000 - 500,000) have been advised to evacuate. Rain has started falling in New Orleans; streets that were dry on Wedesday were a foot deep in water again on Thursday evening, according to ABC. Sandbags and reinforced metal braces may not be enough to protect the city.

The death toll from Hurricane Katrina rose to 1,069 on Thursday.

Prior coverage. Photo courtesy of FEMA; 21 September 2005, US 45 out of Houston.

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Hurricane Rita, Politics, Texas