3. Resulting from heavy destruction on the Gulf Coast, the name Rita was retired in the spring of 2006, and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. In just 30 hours, Hurricane Rita jumped from a tropical storm to a Category 5 screamer. Hurricane Rita was a very intense Atlantic hurricane that caused significant damage to the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005. Only seven were direct deaths. [52] However, by 3:00 p.m. that afternoon, the freeway system in Houston was at a stand-still. [86] High seas from Rita on September 22 flooded parts of coastal Walton County. An estimated 2.5 – 3.7 million people fled prior to Rita's landfall,[43][44] making it the largest evacuation in United States' history. Due to an eyewall replacement cyccle Rita abruptly weakened to Category 4 strength with 230 km/h (144 mph) maximum winds late on 22 September. Rita maintained Category 5 hurricane intensity for 18 hours before an eyewall replacement cycle took place, weakening the hurricane to Category 4 intensity by 1800 UTC on September 22. The United States Department of Homeland Security pre-positioned over 100 trucks of ice and packed food to deliver following Rita. Tropical Weather Summary – 2005 Web Final. Due to wind shear and cooler continental shelf waters, the hurricane continued to weaken. Hurricane-force winds extended over 100 miles (160 km) inland across eastern Texas, causing extensive damage to trees in the Piney Woods. [4][8], In generally favorable conditions for tropical development, the depression quickly organized, and attained tropical storm strength at 1800 UTC that day based on data from reconnaissance flights and nearby ships and weather buoys. The most serious incident was the capsizing of the tension-leg platform Typhoon. This visualization shows the sea surface temperatures during Hurricane Rita. [4] A storm surge of 1.5 ft (0.46 m) was recorded in Miami, although no flooding was reported. Southern Cameron Parish residents, used to frequent evacuations, were gone by noon on Thursday; when parish officials returned to the Hwy. Hurricane Rita, a Category 5 storm, was the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States after Hurricane Katrina, hitting near the Texas-Louisiana border on September 24. Repairs to the dam were expected to take months to complete. What is the center of the hurricane called? Minor erosion also occurred on south-facing beaches. The remnants of the hurricane caused roads in northern Quebec to be rutted and eroded by heavy rainfall, isolating the north shore communities for several days. Click to view movie. Early the next day, the depression lost much of its convection over southeastern Illinois, and degenerated into a remnant low by 0600 UTC that day. [61] According to local officials, the traffic reached a point where residents felt safer riding out the storm at home rather than being stuck in traffic when Rita struck. [18] The Nassau International Airport was also closed due to the storm on September 19 and would remain closed until the evening of September 20. In Beaumont, an estimated 25% of the trees in neighborhoods across the city were uprooted or heavily damaged, and in Groves (home of "The Texas Pecan Festival"), about the same percentage of pecan trees suffered similar fates. Luckily, no serious injuries were reported, though several historic buildings were either gutted or damaged; a fire-weakened wall of the vacated Yaga's Cafe and Bar collapsed several hours later, likely due to lingering wind gusts. The eye. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. As Hurricane Rita passed to the south of Florida on September 20,[4] outer bands to the north produced minor rainfall in parts of southern Georgia, peaking near 3 inches (76 mm). [6] The wave merged with the surface trough two days later, triggering an increase in convective activity and organization. [96] The remnants of Rita had little impact in Tennessee, only consisting of moderate rainfall, peaking near 5 inches (130 mm). [45] Nonetheless, many residents remained in the county because they were either unaware of the danger of the storm or believed that it was more important to protect their belongings, particularly in the wake of looting following Hurricane Katrina. They form over warm ocean water near the equator. As of May 2006, AmeriCorps reported that it would continue to send relief to affected areas. As a result, the tropical storm was named Rita. Hurricane Rita primarily Maps were developed for the maximum surge and at 3-hour intervals for the period 0000 through 1200 on September 24, 2005. It places behind: Hurricane Wilma (2005, 882 mb), Hurricane Gilbert (1988, 888 mb) and The Labor Day Hurricane (1935, 892 mb). Rita weakened to Category 3 strength before making landfall at 0740 UTC on September 24 in extreme southwestern Louisiana between Johnson Bayou and Sabine Pass. Two other occupants sustained serious injuries. [92] Already devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the Industrial Canal in New Orleans was again flooded by Hurricane Rita as the recently-and-hurriedly-repaired levees were breached once more. [4], At 0300 UTC on September 18, a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos and the Southeast and Central Bahamas. Asked by Wiki User. In Cameron Parish, the communities of Holly Beach, Hackberry, Cameron, Creole and Grand Chenier were essentially destroyed. But Bourriaque said Hurricane Ike showed how valuable those new codes were. An estimated two million people lost electricity. [4] Residents in the Bahamas were urged to board up their homes and stock up on emergency supplies. [89] Nearly all of the structures on Pecan Island were destroyed. It began as a mere tropical depression on the Turks and Caicos Islands. 54-55. A total of four hospitals, three assisted living facilities, and two nursing homes were evacuated. An 8-12 foot storm surge was estimated in parts of Vermillion, Iberia and St. Mary Parishes, while a 3-5 foot surge inundated Port Arthur, Texas. Hurricane Rita [39] The Texas Gulf Coast is home to 23% of the United States' refining capacity, and numerous offshore production platforms were in Rita's path. [citation needed], The combined effect of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was the destruction of an estimated 562 square kilometres (217 sq mi) of coastal wetlands in Louisiana.[122]. Indirect deaths are caused by hurricane-related accidents (including car accidents, crimes, fires or other incidents), cleanup and evacuation incidents and health issues (such as poisoning, illnesses, lack of emergency aid). The storm surge feared in Galveston and Houston struck farther east as the storm's center came ashore at the Louisiana border. Texas reported the most deaths from the hurricane, where 113 deaths were reported, 107 of which were associated with the evacuation of the Houston metropolitan area. AmeriCorps sent several crews to Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana in response to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. [4] By 1800 UTC that day, Rita attained Category 5 hurricane intensity,[13] the highest category on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Damaged utility towers made power restoration problematic, with much of the area waiting months for utilities to be restored. 200. Despite this, post-storm predictions estimated only minor price rises. Following less than a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast, Hurricane Rita was the second hurricane of the season to reach Category 5 status (on the, The approach of Hurricane Rita prompted one of the largest urban evacuations in U.S. history: Texas and Louisiana officials evacuated over 3 million residents. [32] Hurricane Rita’s fifteen-foot storm surge and heavy rains caused widespread flooding along the Louisiana coastline. Evacuees were asked to try hotels in the Midland/Odessa area when hotels began to sell out in other areas. In Yazoo, numerous homes had water inside and countywide damage amounted to $6 million. [26] Throughout Florida, a total of 340,000 people were placed under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders. The city of New Orleans was again under a. In the western Calcasieu parish communities of Vinton and Starks, wind damage was also severe. [123] The 1,400 Oregonian soldiers and airmen, including the 1st Battalion of the 186th Infantry which is designated a quick response unit, are joined by engineers and military police from Louisiana, the 56th Stryker brigade from Pennsylvania,[124] and an engineering battalion from Missouri. At the same time, the tropical cyclone began to curve northwestward around the southwestern periphery of a ridge of high pressure over the Southeastern United States. [48] These patients were systematically transferred to the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler.[49]. Direct deaths are those caused by the direct effects of the winds, flooding, tornadoes, storm surge or oceanic effects of Rita. A few windows blew out of some downtown skyscrapers, and some trees and traffic signals were downed or damaged. At 0300 UTC on September 18, a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos and the Southeast and Central Bahamas. On Saturday, September 24 alone, 250 people were rescued. [54] During the Rita evacuation, these preparations and their execution were overwhelmed by the enormous and unprecedented number of people fleeing from the Houston area prior to the departure of local residents. some … [79] Strong winds were reported across the islands, but no damage resulted from the storm. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Officials of Harris County hoped that the designation of zones A, B, and C would help prevent bottlenecks in traffic leaving the area similar to those seen at New Orleans prior to Katrina and Hurricane Dennis earlier that year. It left $70.2 billion in damage. The teams treated 7500 patients during the response. [17] At least one shelter was opened and schools throughout the country were closed. Ike continued to intensify and was further upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale three hours later with winds of 215 km/h (135 mph) and an estimated pressure of 948 mbar. Winds blowing offshore in Texas actually flattened the surge, which was only 7 feet (2.1 m) in Galveston, well below the height of the seawall. [80], In Cuba, Rita produced winds up to 65 mph (105 km/h) and more than 5 in (127 mm) of rain in some areas. How many people did Rita kill? Rita's path travelled through a dense area of offshore pipelines and oil platforms, and on land to an area with large refineries. [113], North of Houston, the 2.5-mile-wide (4.0 km) Lake Livingston dam sustained substantial damage from powerful waves driven by wind gusts of up to 117 mph (188 km/h)[114] and officials started an emergency release of water to lessen pressure on the dam. Coastal storm surge was estimated around 18 ft (5.5 m), with lower levels farther inland from the coast, yet much of north-western and north-central Cameron Parish experienced significant flooding. During Rita, 50% of the county's homes were destroyed or so badly damaged that they couldn't be salvaged. 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