Hurricane Rita Turns Into 3rd Strongest Hurricane Ever Recor

by **AspirinE** » Sep 22nd, '05, 17:36

Rita Upgraded to 'Monster' Category 5 Hurricane
Storm Churns in Gulf of Mexico With 165 MPH Winds

By Sam Coates, Manuel Roig-Franzia and Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 21, 2005; 6:24 PM

KEY WEST, Fla., Sept. 21 -- Hurricane Rita quickly intensified into a monster Category 5 storm Wednesday, churning in the Gulf of Mexico with winds of up to 165 mph toward the Texas coast after slapping the Florida Keys.

In an update to an earlier advisory, the National Hurricane Center said this afternoon that reconnaissance aircraft showed Rita has reached the strongest hurricane category, with sustained winds of 165 mph. A Category 5 hurricane has winds over 155 mph.

This morning, Rita's winds were clocked at 140 mph, making it a Category 4 hurricane.

Mandatory evacuations were underway in coastal Galveston, Tex., flood-ravaged New Orleans and parts of Houston. Although the hurricane was veering away from New Orleans, it still forced the evacuation of 7,000 of Louisiana's Katrina evacuees from Texas. And officials in New Orleans warned that as little as three inches of rain could swamp the city's damaged levees, according to the Associated Press.

In Washington, President Bush declared states of emergency in Texas and Louisiana as Rita approached.

The acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, outlined a massive effort to pour military equipment and provisions into Texas ahead of the hurricane's landfall.

R. David Paulison said FEMA has asked the Defense Department for six heavy-lift helicopters, a 2,500-bed hospital system, a food kitchen to serve at least 500,000 meals and temporary bridging equipment for roads washed out by flooding. The helicopters will assist an urban search and rescue effort and help move supplies where they are needed, he said.

In addition, FEMA is working with the Department of Transportation to mobilize buses to evacuate people and is putting in place "a large number of ambulances . . . in case we have injuries there," Paulison said. About 400 disaster medical personnel are already in Texas, along with dozens of truckloads of food and water, he said.

"We are comfortable that Texas is going to be ready for this storm," said Paulison, who took office after Michael D. Brown resigned as FEMA director under heavy criticism for his performance during Hurricane Katrina. "It's not going to be fun."

Rita is "a huge storm," Paulison added "It covers most of the Gulf. We want to make sure we're ready. I'd rather pre-deploy more assets than we need than not have enough."

President Bush used a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition to urge people in the hurricane's path to comply with the evacuation orders.

"We hope and pray that Hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm but we got to be ready for the worst," Bush said in his speech to the Jewish group. "I urge the citizens to listen carefully to the instructions provided by state and local authorities and follow them."