Considering the following story I'd say all the grandstanding yesterday by various Texas Mayors, about how they had learned from Katrina, was a bit premature.
Even I, a lowly programmer can see that a cities roadways are not designed for all the cars, in the city, at once. Why in emergency situations are government officials going stupid on us?
Update [2005-9-25 12:36:8 by yumanbean]:
After Rita "Staged Return" has become quite the buzzword among the politicians. To bad "Staged Exodus" was not in their vocabulary prior to the storm.
It seems that an orderly; time staggered, perhaps by burough or zip code, evacuation would have more approriate. Heck you could even have placed law enforcement at each entrance to the freeways and only allowed vehicles from the designated areas on at their specified times. They could have then upped the speed limit somewhat to facilitate a speedier withdrawal. But no, now we have;
Texans Fleeing Rita Stalled by Traffic
By MIKE GRACZYK Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON Sep 22, 2005 -- Hurricane Rita closed in on the nation's fourth-largest city and the heart of the U.S. oil-refining industry with howling 145 mph winds Thursday, sending hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in a frustratingly slow, bumper-to-bumper exodus.
"This is the worst planning I've ever seen," said Julie Anderson, who covered just 45 miles in 12 hours after setting out from her home in the Houston suburb of LaPorte. "They say we've learned a lot from Hurricane Katrina. Well, you couldn't prove it by me."
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More shame can be found at Shame On You America