Show I h. h l F 3 f J. J tf l. l I h V tN t- t N o J OJ b i J M r 7 r h Q r T 11 M M I f Y aboard the International Space Station The image looks like from The Expedition 11 crew captures an image of what a hurricane was captured by on September 10 2005 and is of Hurricane Ophelia Rita force in Gulf gains f u Samuel Coates and Manuel Roig-Franzia Roig Roig Franzia Los Angeles Times Hurricane Rita slapped at Key KeyWest KeyWest KeyWest West on Tuesday before strengthening strengthening strengthening strength strength- ening in the Gulf of Mexico where it appeared to be veering away from New Orleans but still forced the evacuation of of Louisiana's Katrina evacuees from Texas Forecasters expect Rita to swell on Wednesday into a Category 4 monster carrying mph winds as it gains strength from the warm Gulf waters and spins westward toward an anticipated landfall Friday near Galveston Texas The storms storm's sudden burst of power after it passed 50 miles south of Key KeyWest KeyWest KeyWest West and the possibility that its track could change sent ripples of anxiety across hundreds of miles of the Gulf Coast much of it still in the early stages of recovery from Katrina three weeks ago President Bush signed an emergency emergency emergency emer emer- gency declaration for Florida which allowed federal relief help to be He also said that he had spoken with Texas Gov 1 Rick Perry R about storm prepa prepa- rations All up and down this coastline people are now preparing for what is anticipated to be yet another significant significant significant sig sig- sig- sig storm Bush said Perry activated members of the Texas National Guard Mili Military tary Find out how hurricanes are named Page 8 leaders prepared to rush the Iwo J Jima i m a which has served as a floating command u. u post in New Orleans and several other naval vessels out to sea to better ride out the storm Emergency workers began plans to open shelters in central Texas and the mayor of Galveston issued a voluntary evacuation order which could be followed by a mandatory order on Wednesday The scramble to prepare for Ritas Rita's next landfall swung into motion even before the storm toppled toppled toppled top top- pled trees and electrical lines with mph 90 gusts in Key West But there were no reports of injuries only isolated flooding The damage damage damage dam dam- age was far less than feared from a half storm so fearsome that nearly of Key West's residents evacuated- evacuated far more than the usual 25 percent on an island famous for its nonchalance nonchalance nonchalance lance in the face of hurricane threats We are very fortunate Key KeyWest KeyWest KeyWest West Mayor Jimmy Weekley said Key West's apparent fortune did little to ease anxiety as the die storm grew more powerful Tuesday New Orleans Mayor C. C Ray Nagin who has delayed plans to let residents return urged those who are still in inthe inthe inthe the city to leave once again vo Two busloads of residents followed his advice But hundreds ignored him In the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans where neck-high neck floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina have now receded the National Guard was warning a handful of homeowners who had sneaked into the city to check on their houses that it was time to get out again We are not forcing them but we will do anything to convince them to get out of here said tt 1 f u Timothy Eagle of the Oregon National Guard who cruised the neighborhood in a We dont don't want to come back for the body Perhaps the worst off at least psychologically are the thousands of Katrina evacuees in Texas who traumatized re by bya are now being a second evacuation Rita Cont on Page 6 Rita Cont from front You You can imagine what's g going on an in peoples people's minds who lost virtually everything everything everything every every- thing said Howard Smith associate dean of the College of Education and Counseling at South Dakota State University and coordinator of Red Cross mental health ser ser- ser ser- vices A few evacuees began boarding planes bound for Fort Chaffee Chaffee in Arkansas a state that will accept displaced residents w while le an additional will be going to Tennessee One thousand may be going to Nebraska But some evacuees evacuees evacuees evac evac- were unwilling to be uprooted again Its a natural and well well- expected reluctance Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said Perry urged residents to fill their vehicles with gasoline gasoline gaso gaso- line gather personal and financial records stock up on a three-month three supply of needed medications and emergency provisions such as flashlights water and nonperishable food and find places to stay inland Nagin said he might begin reconsidering when to restart his plan to repopulate the city on Friday if Rita does not hit Louisiana But he refused to discuss a timetable after meeting with Bush who made his fifth trip j to New Orleans on Tuesday and Allen who has cautioned that the city is still unsafe The arrival of Rita on Key West is forecasters forecasted getting closer to the possibility of notable quirk An in international international ema- ema a committee of the World ed Organization Meteorological has names for storms first then using only female names female alternating male and and names after 1979 But there is a finite ber of nUmber number nUm- nUm names each 21 Z each summer and after Rita only four are left ws this Yep vear Stan tan Tammy md and Wilma Vince |