CJ Experience: Preparing for Hurricane Rita

Prepared in his own way
I got about 40 lbs of rock salt, two bags of charcoal, two cans of ligther fluid, 14 gallons of whiskey, and put my socks and clothes in garbage bags. I got my waders and about 35 lbs of meat that'll keep with the whiskey and salt. Other than that, you don't need electricity to bar-b-q and the rock salt is non-lethal in the shotgun, and good as a preservative and for seasoning. Whiskey is an old friend  -- the best thing for cuts, snake bites, meat, and rainy days.
--Tony Fairbanks, Houston, Texas

Evacuating not easy
I am originally from Galveston, now living in Waco, Texas. My parents are now in the process of TRYING to evacuate with their 3 dogs. They've been on the highway for 6 hours and have only moved 43 miles from their house! My mom is so tired from packing and boarding up the house, she keeps falling asleep at the wheel. I am so worried, I am praying that they can speed up and reach my house before long. The cell phone service is spotty, "all circuits are busy" is now becoming a hated statement in my house. The trip from Galveston to Waco is usually about 4 hours, tonight we are thinking it will take about 18. My parents have a beach house on the west end of Galveston Island, the end that is not protected by the seawall. My brother and I are 4th generation BOI (born on the island) -- our great grandparents lived thru the 1900 storm... but now -- watching and waiting -- I just hope we have an island to go back to! Please pray for us and for all those in Rita's path!
--Jennifer Dundee, Waco/Galveston, Texas

Getting ready for the worst
We left Galveston last night around midnight to get the ferry across the channel to Bolivar peninsula and took refuge in Silsbee, near Beaumont Texas, at our son's home. There was nobody on the ferry except a few residents of Bolivar. We took only important documents, family pictures and our pet. This it. For the rest, we are getting ready for the worst but we pray that even here we will be safe. Our neighbors are evacuating to go more inland.
--Michel Cahier, Galveston Texas

Submissions received Wed. Sept. 21:

Evacuees filling San Antonio
We are already noticing evacuees from the coastal front crowding in parking lots. It seems that all of the local hotels are full, and runs on gas are getting out of hand. And we aren't even on the coastline, although we are in the projected path... Right now, we are more concerned with tornados spawning off the feeder bands and main storm surge as it hits the hill country. Cars are full of gas, drinks are ready, and can openers are manual, all we can do now is watch and wait...
--David Dauphine, San Antonio, Texas

Riding it out, feeling prepared
We live in Fulshear, Texas, population 714, a small town west of Houston, approx 56 miles north of Freeport but are in the direct projected path of Rita. We have two generators to power refrigerators, freezers and a coffee maker, 20 gallons of bottled water and plenty of food. We will be filling up empty ice chests with tap water before the storm hits as well as the bathtubs just in case. We have even worked out how to retain bathroom utility by carrying buckets of water from our swimming pool to fill the tank of our toilets in case we lose water pressure from our MUD district. We have been bagging all the ice that our 3 icemakers can produce & storing in a deep-freeze since we have no ice for purchase in the area. All of our vehicles are full of gas & should we run out of gas for our generators, we will simply siphon the gas out of our cars to keep our generators going round the clock. We feel we are prepared and will videotape as much as we can for documentation as well as digital photos as the storm progresses.  I am a dental student at UT-Dental Branch in Houston and evacuated from the med center this afternoon. Normally a 45 minute drive lasted almost 4 hours today due to the extreme congestion of the roadways. Keep your fingers crossed as that's what we are doing.
--Colin A. Lathrop, Fulshear, Texas

Crazy scene 100 miles north of Houston
I live 100 miles north of Houston, in Lufkin. Some people here are in the early stages of panic. Kerosene and camping fuel, batteries and especially water are flying off the shelves. Lines are beginning to form at the gas pumps with some having to wait in line for in excess of 30 minutes. Let's pray that everyone will keep their heads about them and be kind to their neighbors.
--Glenda Barnes, Lufkin, Texas

Disbelief in Houston
I wouldn't say people are in a state of panic, but disbelief. After Katrina people are taking necessary precautions to prepare themselves, but I think the seriousness of the situation still eludes a lot of people. Due to the intense heat and clear skies, most people hear it, but still don't believe what happened in New Orleans can happen here. And to me that's a bit scary. No one expected what happened in New Orleans, it's a new learning experience for everyone, even the government. And Houston floods, badly, in a severe thunderstorm. What's going to happen during a CAT 5 hurricane? The drainage here is horrendous, so flooding is expected and I don't think Houston is at all prepared for what Rita has in store.
--Nita C., Houston, Texas

Katrina evacuee sticking it out
I live in League City Texas and as of now, the news predicts that Hurricane Rita will come our way. This is the second time I have had to deal with a hurricane. I attend college in New Orleans at Xavier University. My eleven friends and I evacuated the school the day before Hurricane Katrina became a category five hurricane. We stayed at my roomate's house in Birmingham, Alabama. Her family happily agreed to take us in. Once we realized that we would not be returning to school anytime soon, we all decided to return to our respective homes. I flew back to Houston and have been staying with my parents. I found a job at Bath and Body Works and will work there until I return to school in January. Now, I have to face this hurricane too. My family and I have decided to stay because my parents have faced Hurricane Alicia in '80s and dont plan on leaving. My dad has taped up the windows but some of our neighbors have boarded their windows. I will get my camera ready to take pictures to capture the moments. Prayerfully, nothing too extreme will happen and we will all make it through this situation.
--Stephanie Warfield, League City, Texas

Staying put
My family and I are not leaving even though we're in the cone of land that Rita may hit. The schools in the area are still open and will probably remain open for the rest of the week. Most people here have gone about their business. However, a lot of people are stocking up with essentials like water and canned goods. You should see the lines at the gas stations around here! What happened in Louisiana are still fresh in people's minds, but people here take pride in their homes and aren't going to leave willingly.
--Susan, Port Arthur, Texas

Might as well evacuate
It's amazing to me how a city as big as Houston can run short on normal supplies during hurricane season. You can't find water, batteries, flashlights, plywood, anything! We might as well evacuate since we can't get supplies to wait the storm out!
--Jessica, Houston, Texas

Left with peanut butter and beenee weenee
Local stores continue to be packed with customers buying food, coolers, batteries, and generators. All of the shelves at the grocery store have been picked clean. All of the bottled water is gone. I ended up with the one remaining jar of chunky peanut butter and some dusty cans of beenee weenee from the very back of a top shelf. The gas lines were long last night and decided to fill up at 9:30 this morning. Waited about a half-hour in line at the pump. An hour later, that station and several others in the area were out of fuel. Many friends have already town. My husband and I are planning to stay home and ride it out. The area surrounding our home did not flood during the heavy rains from Tropical Storm Alison so we think we will be safe.
--Susan Schroeder, Houston, Texas

Not taking any chances
Katrina was an eye opener. I'm not taking any chances, my wife and I have an 8 month old baby and she is more important then the house. We are boarding up tonight (Wednesday)and expect to be out of Houston by Friday morning at the latest. Good luck to all and God be with us.
--Tom Brennan, Houston, Texas

Supplies in short supply
We are boarding up our home today and picking up anything that could blow around and cause damage. I had a hard time finding boarding material for our windows and ended up buying siding material at $18 a sheet from one of our local hardware stores. I was told that our area is out of plywood and it looked like the store I went to this morning was about to run out of the last of their siding as well. I know several gas stations were out of gas but I think they were getting trucks in to refuel their tanks. We have a used car lot and we have to get all or most of our vehicles inside garages because we went through "Claudette" a couple of years ago and know the damage that one caused. I think most people are pretty panicked around here-I'm sure after watching New Orleans and "Katrina". My family hopes to stay in our brick home and ride it out. We are approximately 45 miles from the coast. We have lots of water/batteries/food that will last and any meds that are needed. We are taking this very seriously and are prepared.
--Roberta Fisher, Victoria, Texas

There to stay
I am in Freeport, Texas and in the direct projected path of Rita I have purchased a generator and about 50 gallons of diesel to run it which will power my home for about 10 days if needed. I bought the remainder of the water in the store and have enough food to last 20 days. I have moved everything in my home into a secure area and i believe I will be OK. My only worry is that of course, I am on the water and my house in on stilts, so wish me luck. My wife two kids and dog are getting ready they issued an evacuation on the town at 6 a.m. this morning so we are here to stay.
--Scott Dean, Surfside, Texas

For materials you post or otherwise provide to MSNBC (a "Submission"), you grant MSNBC permission to (1) use, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, modify, translate and reformat your Submission, each in connection with the MSNBC Web Site, and (2) sublicense these rights, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. MSNBC will not pay you for your Submission. MSNBC may remove your Submission at any time. For each Submission, you represent that you have all rights necessary for you to make the grants in this section.

MORE FROM CITIZEN JOURNALIST

Citizen Journalist Section Front

CJ Experience: Returning home to Arabi CJ: Giving Thanks CJ: Far from normal in Wilma's aftermath Frontline families' experiences CJ: A tribute to our troops CJ: Rebuilding homes and lives after hurricanes Citizen Journalist Section Front   Add Citizen Journalist headlines to your news reader: