Autocarro explode em Houston
Enviado: 23/9/2005 15:02Já não bastava todas as tragédias e as pessoas a quererem fugir de outra tragédia e lá acontece outra tragédia. São tragédias a mais!
Jinhos
Tixa
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- A bus caught fire and exploded early Friday on a crowded Texas interstate, killing as many as 20 people who were fleeing ahead of Hurricane Rita.
The bus, carrying about 45 elderly evacuees, burst into flames on Interstate 45 south of Dallas. It pulled over and people were getting off when a series of explosions ripped through the bus.
Dallas County Sheriff's Sgt. Don Peritz said 14 or 15 people got off the bus and said as many as 20 people may have died. (Watch the latest on Hurricane Rita's path)
Peritz said the fire was believed to have started in the bus's brake system and may have caused oxygen canisters on the bus to explode. (Full story)
Authorities blocked all lanes of the interstate, complicating the already grueling exodus from the Texas coast.
Authorities said traffic would be diverted off Interstate 45 south of the accident scene.
At 8 a.m. ET, Rita was centered about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southeast of Galveston, Texas, and 220 miles (354 kilometers) south-southeast of Cameron, Louisiana. It was moving to the northwest at 9 mph (14 kph).
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph).
The Category 4 storm was expected to reach the coast late Friday or early Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. (Watch Texas residents cope with gridlock on the roads and in the sky -- 2:18)
If motorists are still stuck in their cars when the storm hits, they could be in a dangerous situation, Ed Rappaport, the hurricane center's deputy director, said Friday.
"The hope, of course, is that this storm is off to the right as far as they're concerned," he said of Houston drivers. But "that just moves the problem to another community."
Rappaport said that Rita's current track would bring it ashore north of the Houston area, but he said that could change at any time.
Late Thursday, Houston Mayor Bill White said that except for people who live in high-risk areas near the water, those still at home should stay put, especially given the traffic conditions and an unanticipated fuel shortage.
"Now is not the time to get into your car to start the evacuation," White said. "We will get people who are stranded on the roadside off the roadside before the storm comes in," he said. "That is our commitment."
Gas stations along some of the major roads out of Houston and Beaumont, to the east, were running low on gas, said Steven McCraw, director of the governor's division of emergency management.
"We've traveled approximately 20 miles in nine hours with two sheepdogs," said Nick Nichols, who headed out of Houston at 6 a.m. on Thursday. "The orders were to evacuate from Houston, and ... we're out here on a parking lot."
The two National Guard tanker trucks, each carrying 5,000 gallons of gas, were sent at daybreak Friday to help thousands of people who had run low on gas while trying to evacuate, said Chief Master Sgt. Gonda Moncada, spokeswoman for the national guard.
The trucks were sent to help motorists on Interstates 10, 45, 59 and 290, Moncada said.
Because nozzles on the military vehicles were too large to provide fuel to civilian vehicles, 1-inch nozzles had to be flown in, she said.
Moncada said that 10,000 gallons of gas might not be enough to help everyone who needs it.
Some Houston residents tried various routes out of the city only to become so flustered they returned home and thought about riding out the storm. Other Texans on gridlocked roads pushed their cars to help conserve fuel.
Officials said traffic would be allowed to drive north for 100 miles in the southbound lanes of Interstate 45, the major route to Dallas.
With the hurricane generating winds of tropical storm force extending 205 miles (335 kilometers) from the center, some areas in Louisiana already were feeling Rita's outer bands. (Watch a report on the science behind monster storms -- 3:50)
A hurricane warning was in effect from Port O'Connor, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, meaning hurricane conditions such as sustained winds of at least 74 mph (118 kph) are possible within 24 hours.
New Orleans, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, was under a tropical storm warning, meaning sustained winds of at least 39 mph (62 kph) are expected within the next 24 hours.
New flood fears for New Orleans
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco urged residents in the state's coastal parishes to immediately evacuate northward.
"As you know, Rita took a turn to the east last night and southwest Louisiana is now in danger," she said Thursday. "I'm urging everyone to evacuate now."
Shelters have been set up in the northern part of the state, she said. (Full story)
In New Orleans, which was recently pronounced "basically dry" by the Army Corps of Engineers, there were fears of impending heavy rain.
"There is going to be rainfall potential of 3 to 5 inches [7.6 to 12.7 centimeters] over the next 12 to 24 hours," Rappaport said Thursday afternoon.
The corps was working to shore up the city's fragile series of earthen levees and concrete flood walls. Brig. Gen. Bruce A. Berwick said he expected the repairs to hold and anticipated flooding of between 2 and 4 feet (0.7 and 1.3 meters). (Full story)
Officials started closing the flood gates around Lake Pontchartrain Thursday morning in preparation for Rita.
More than 1,000 deaths, most in Louisiana, are blamed on Hurricane Katrina, which struck August 29 after slamming Florida a few days earlier.
Several refineries, which process about 3 million barrels of oil each day, could be threatened by Rita. Some energy analysts predict that disruption from the storm could trigger a surge in gas prices. (Watch Rita's threat to refineries -- 2:43)
Oil prices dropped to below $66 a barrel on Friday after Rita lost some of its intensity -- at its peak, it was a Category 5 storm with 175 mph winds.
The storm's latest track also appeared to take it away from some of the major refining hubs. (Full story)
(cnn.com)
Jinhos
Tixa
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- A bus caught fire and exploded early Friday on a crowded Texas interstate, killing as many as 20 people who were fleeing ahead of Hurricane Rita.
The bus, carrying about 45 elderly evacuees, burst into flames on Interstate 45 south of Dallas. It pulled over and people were getting off when a series of explosions ripped through the bus.
Dallas County Sheriff's Sgt. Don Peritz said 14 or 15 people got off the bus and said as many as 20 people may have died. (Watch the latest on Hurricane Rita's path)
Peritz said the fire was believed to have started in the bus's brake system and may have caused oxygen canisters on the bus to explode. (Full story)
Authorities blocked all lanes of the interstate, complicating the already grueling exodus from the Texas coast.
Authorities said traffic would be diverted off Interstate 45 south of the accident scene.
At 8 a.m. ET, Rita was centered about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southeast of Galveston, Texas, and 220 miles (354 kilometers) south-southeast of Cameron, Louisiana. It was moving to the northwest at 9 mph (14 kph).
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph).
The Category 4 storm was expected to reach the coast late Friday or early Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. (Watch Texas residents cope with gridlock on the roads and in the sky -- 2:18)
If motorists are still stuck in their cars when the storm hits, they could be in a dangerous situation, Ed Rappaport, the hurricane center's deputy director, said Friday.
"The hope, of course, is that this storm is off to the right as far as they're concerned," he said of Houston drivers. But "that just moves the problem to another community."
Rappaport said that Rita's current track would bring it ashore north of the Houston area, but he said that could change at any time.
Late Thursday, Houston Mayor Bill White said that except for people who live in high-risk areas near the water, those still at home should stay put, especially given the traffic conditions and an unanticipated fuel shortage.
"Now is not the time to get into your car to start the evacuation," White said. "We will get people who are stranded on the roadside off the roadside before the storm comes in," he said. "That is our commitment."
Gas stations along some of the major roads out of Houston and Beaumont, to the east, were running low on gas, said Steven McCraw, director of the governor's division of emergency management.
"We've traveled approximately 20 miles in nine hours with two sheepdogs," said Nick Nichols, who headed out of Houston at 6 a.m. on Thursday. "The orders were to evacuate from Houston, and ... we're out here on a parking lot."
The two National Guard tanker trucks, each carrying 5,000 gallons of gas, were sent at daybreak Friday to help thousands of people who had run low on gas while trying to evacuate, said Chief Master Sgt. Gonda Moncada, spokeswoman for the national guard.
The trucks were sent to help motorists on Interstates 10, 45, 59 and 290, Moncada said.
Because nozzles on the military vehicles were too large to provide fuel to civilian vehicles, 1-inch nozzles had to be flown in, she said.
Moncada said that 10,000 gallons of gas might not be enough to help everyone who needs it.
Some Houston residents tried various routes out of the city only to become so flustered they returned home and thought about riding out the storm. Other Texans on gridlocked roads pushed their cars to help conserve fuel.
Officials said traffic would be allowed to drive north for 100 miles in the southbound lanes of Interstate 45, the major route to Dallas.
With the hurricane generating winds of tropical storm force extending 205 miles (335 kilometers) from the center, some areas in Louisiana already were feeling Rita's outer bands. (Watch a report on the science behind monster storms -- 3:50)
A hurricane warning was in effect from Port O'Connor, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, meaning hurricane conditions such as sustained winds of at least 74 mph (118 kph) are possible within 24 hours.
New Orleans, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, was under a tropical storm warning, meaning sustained winds of at least 39 mph (62 kph) are expected within the next 24 hours.
New flood fears for New Orleans
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco urged residents in the state's coastal parishes to immediately evacuate northward.
"As you know, Rita took a turn to the east last night and southwest Louisiana is now in danger," she said Thursday. "I'm urging everyone to evacuate now."
Shelters have been set up in the northern part of the state, she said. (Full story)
In New Orleans, which was recently pronounced "basically dry" by the Army Corps of Engineers, there were fears of impending heavy rain.
"There is going to be rainfall potential of 3 to 5 inches [7.6 to 12.7 centimeters] over the next 12 to 24 hours," Rappaport said Thursday afternoon.
The corps was working to shore up the city's fragile series of earthen levees and concrete flood walls. Brig. Gen. Bruce A. Berwick said he expected the repairs to hold and anticipated flooding of between 2 and 4 feet (0.7 and 1.3 meters). (Full story)
Officials started closing the flood gates around Lake Pontchartrain Thursday morning in preparation for Rita.
More than 1,000 deaths, most in Louisiana, are blamed on Hurricane Katrina, which struck August 29 after slamming Florida a few days earlier.
Several refineries, which process about 3 million barrels of oil each day, could be threatened by Rita. Some energy analysts predict that disruption from the storm could trigger a surge in gas prices. (Watch Rita's threat to refineries -- 2:43)
Oil prices dropped to below $66 a barrel on Friday after Rita lost some of its intensity -- at its peak, it was a Category 5 storm with 175 mph winds.
The storm's latest track also appeared to take it away from some of the major refining hubs. (Full story)
(cnn.com)