http://www.homesafetyzone.com/weather-safety/hurricane-safety/2005-hurricanes/hurricane-rita/ Hurricane Rita followed closely behind Katrina, but unlike Katrina hurricane Rita didn't leave behind as much damage as had been expected. en-us Tue, 08 Nov 2005 12:57:16 EST Tue, 08 Nov 2005 12:57:16 EST Weblog Editor 2.0 It was like being kicked when you were down. Just when the full extent of the damage left by hurricane Katrina was becoming apparent, the country got news that yet another powerful storm had turned into a hurricane and it was headed in the same general direction. Person after person were asking themselves and each other, "why?". There had never been another storm as strong as hurricane Rita to enter into the Gulf of Mexico, whose warm waters encourage a hurricane to grow in strength as happened with hurricane Rita. Hurricane Rita adds fuel to the fire At the very least, Rita was going to bring heavy rains to the same region as had been hit by Katrina and that meant trouble because those areas had not even had enough time to assess all of the damage that they had to deal with. There was precious little many could do along the lines of hurricane safety. The infrastructure of places like New Orleans was demolished and could not function on any level, entire communities were forced to shut down. People had to fend for themselves in many locals and it was still not safe to be out on the streets, many of which still had standing water, not to mention some criminal contingents. News had to trickle down for many people who had no access to a television or radio. Rita finally made landfall in Texas and although it was not another direct hit, the damage was far reaching. Any work that had been done on the many levees in New Orleans that had been breached by the onslaught of water from Katrina was for naught as the rains came as expected. Levees that had been repaired or were in the early stages of repair quickly succumbed to the pressure of more water and the many parts of New Orleans re-flooded. Although she was one of the most powerful hurricanes of the 2005 hurricanes, Rita did not produce as much devastation as was expected. But, she did cost about $8-10 billion in damage and left another 2 million people without power. This hurricane season has shown us all how important weather safety is many areas of the country. cc Tue, 08 Nov 2005 12:57:16 EST