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The wrath of Rita

Beaumont Enterprise:

It could take as long as a month before Southeast Texans who fled from Hurricane Rita and her 120 mph-plus winds can return to an area that was left Saturday without electricity and water in a tattered landscape of downed trees, power lines and building debris.

As of 9 p.m., there had been no reports of storm-related deaths in the area, but Rita's wrath on trees and buildings was another matter. Along with thousands of Entergy workers, 2,500 National Guard, 2,000 soldiers from 1St Cavalry in Fort Hood and troopers and firefighters from Fort Worth were expected to swarm the region and begin the cleanup process.

"There is a humongous undertaking to try to get our infrastructure rebuilt and to maintain law and order here," said Jeff McNeely, Beaumont Fire and Rescue district chief.

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Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, Vidor and towns well into the northern parts of East Texas all suffered severe damage, with few homes and businesses escaping unharmed.

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Police, firefighters and other emergency crews combed the cities Saturday in search of those who needed assistance and to crack down on looting. Looting reports were numerous throughout the region.

Four Beaumont houses burned to the ground during the storm, and rescue crews were busy responding to calls from the sick, injured or simply just distressed from Rita's spectacular blast of rain-spraying fury, McNeely said.

Some people had become trapped in their homes after trees fell on them, and there were reports of gas line ruptures.

There is much more on the actual damage. Because the storm did not hit a large urban area like Houston, the intesity of the news coverage was less than with Katrina, just as with Katrina the intesity of the coverage focused on New Orleans even though Mississippi took the brunt of the storm. The Beaumont paper has several stories that give good first hand view of the damage. Just clink on the link above and after you read the whole story click on the "News" link in the upper left menu.