Hurricane Rita

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So Why Didn't Houston Evacuate?
So Why Didn't
Houston Evacuate?
the rundown

So Why Didn't Houston Evacuate?

Memories of mass chaos in Hurricane Rita's exodus were a factor

(Newser) - With flooding in the Houston area not expected to abate until at least Wednesday, municipalities in the area have begun issuing their first evacuation orders . Meanwhile, police continue nearly nonstop rescues of stranded residents, shelters are filling up, and many highways are impassable. All of which has some people asking:...

FEMA Looks to Claw Back Money From Katrina Victims

Victims angry as agency says it gave out millions more than intended

(Newser) - FEMA gave out hundreds of millions in aid during the hurricane season of 2005—and it wants its money back. The agency is currently reviewing $600 million given to 154,000 victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, in the belief that it may have mistakenly overpaid many of them,...

Lost Coffins Remain Part of Katrina's Legacy

(Newser) - Louisiana is still finding coffins displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years on, the Wall Street Journal reports. Katrina and Rita moved 1,500 bodies from their resting places in the state's swampy south, where floating coffins during floods have long been part of local folklore. Hundreds remain unidentified, and they...

FEMA to Move Families, Citing Toxins in Trailers

High formaldehyde levels found in lodging of hurricane survivors

(Newser) - FEMA will move thousands of survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita out of their government-supplied trailers because of possibly dangerous levels of formaldehyde, the Times-Picayune reports. Those at greatest risk, including those with current health problems, will be moved into apartments and hotels in the next two weeks, with the...

Katrina Victims' Claims Number in the Trillions

New Orleans residents seek damages from Corps of Engineers

(Newser) - New Orleans residents have peppered the Army Corps of Engineers with claims for trillions in damages, USA Today reports, asking for sums higher than the nation’s entire economic output. One claim alone seeks $3 quadrillion. In all, the corps has received more than 489,000 claims, with more still...

Humberto's Lightning Birth Stuns Experts

Forecasters unprepared for overnight sensation that slammed Texas

(Newser) - An unremarkable tropical depression headed for Texas stunned forecasters when it jumped speed overnight to become a hurricane faster than any other storm in more than a century. Hurricane Humberto slammed Beaumont and Port Arthur, still recovering from Rita, killing at least one person, knocking out power to 100,000...

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