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Home | Hurricane Rita | Rita Links | Katrina | Wilma
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Some Bloggers Are Disastered Out
Hurricanes, massive earthquakes, floods, tsunamis and
now bird flu to worry about as well. And this short list does not include the man made destruction from terrorism. People still need aid but are
people too "disastered out" to help? A couple disastered out bloggers can be found here and here. The term "disastered out" has been mentioned on CNN but so far the Technorati tag disastered out is empty.
Charities are also worried about donor fatigue as new disasters create more need while rising expenses like heating costs and gas prices weigh down
on people's ability to help. Some blog posts about donor fatigue can be found here, here, here, here, here and
here.
Posted on October 17, 2005
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Rita Roundup 10-15-05
Rita blogging has slowed but Technorati indicates that there
are still about 5 to 10 posts per hour.
A lot of the extreme damage caused by Rita was overshadowed by
the enormous devstation caused by Katrina. But look at what Rita did to Cameron Parish, La in this before/after picture.
There is not much left to see.
Bloggers are also responding to a Houston Chronicle
article that says East Texas Rita victims are being overlooked. Netherworldnews calls Rita the nightmare of the century for East Texas. Off the Cuff says East Texans are not happy with the FEMA response and posts some of their complaints.
One of Rita's biggest stories was Rita's killer evacuation which
has been overshadowed by other news. 31 people were killed during the
mass evacuation not including the 24 people that were killed in a single bus explosion outside of Dallas. Fox23 has an article
about the deaths caused by the massive traffic jam during the evacuation itself:
Nineteen of the 31 victims died or became ill while they were
inside vehicles, and seven of the deaths were thought to be
heat-related, Begay said. Some had body temperatures ranging from
105 to 112 degrees, the report said.
Several bloggers here,
here, here and here noted the news that Rita evacuees fought knife fights over cans of petrol.
Technorati shows over 5,500 posts about Rita's evacuation. And people are still blogging about the evacuation problems
in Texas as recently as today.
Hopefully some valuable lessons will be learned about how to
evacuate massive metropolitan populations like Houston, Texas.
113 total deaths occured from Rita and the evacuation to escape Rita according to the Wikipedia entry.
Posted on October 15, 2005
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Rita Roundup 9-28-05
Rita-related blog posts have passed 130,000 posts
on Technorati. BlogPulse.com indexes 77,000+ posts, IceRocket.com lists
126,000+ posts and Google Blogsearch
finds over 216,000 posts.
Is global warming causing these powerful hurricanes?
FLHurricane.com has overlayed plot points from Hurricane Rita's track on
Google Maps.
NOAA has provided a collection of satellite images for Hurricane Rita.
Will we get to Hurricane Alpha this season?
FEMA has been blasted for its slow response to Rita. An emergency official in Port Arthur, Texas said people are "living like cavemen." Official Reality Check has more. More on this story can also be found here and here
Hurricane Rita did record damage to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Many of the large oil rigs are damaged or missing.
Response Deja Vu: Houston disaster relief center closed after people waiting started
fainting from waiting the heat. FEMA claims they underestimated the number of people that would be there to get aid. The Houston Chronicle's
Rita blog discusses the early closure and KHOU also reports on it.
MSNBC.com blogs about a journey with Huey Mhire and his nephew Zeke Wainwright to look at their homes in Grand Chenier, La. Both of them found their homes had been destroyed by Rita.
Wikipedia lists Hurricane Rita's death toll at 70.
This blog documents
Rita's impact in Lake Livingston, Texas. The blog includes both text and photos.
Ron Franscell, a managing editor at the Beaumont Enterprise who
runs the Under the News blog, has started another blog that
provides Rita photos submitted by citizen journalists. Ron also
blogs about the origins of the expression we have been hearing
a lot lately: "hunker down." Hunker down seems to be a favorite saying among news anchors.
Common Hades offers some images from Creole, Louisiana which was hit terribly hard by Hurricane Rita.
Posted on September 28, 2005
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Rita Blog Roundup
Hurricane Rita made landfall as a category 3 hurricane just east of Sabine Pass, Texas. Most of the damage has been in western Louisiana and far east Texas. Small towns like Cameron, Louisiana appear to be totally devastated by Rita. However, cities like Galveston and Houston were spared the worst from the storm. Now Rita has now become a tornado maker. Here is what some of the blogs are discussing:
Technorati has passed the 55,000 post
mark for Rita. Blogpulse also has over
60,000 posts; IceRocket.com lists over 160,000 posts
and Google Blogsearch shows over 177,000 posts.
Why is the Department of Homeland Security using weather information from AccuWeather, a private company instead of data from the National Weather Service,
which is already paid for by taxpayers?
More
here and here.
There are fears of a traffic jam on the return home to Houston and Galveston after the
100-mile-traffic jam that occured while people were evacuating. The Chronicle's Rita blog
says there was nothing in history like the evacuation from Houston. The
Road Home reports on any traffic
jams that might occur on the way back home for evacuees. Sparktown says
Houston traffic was a disaster long before Rita.
Blogger Brendan Loy feels the pressure to blog about Rita.
Over 1 million are still without power.
Deadly bus explosion that killed 24 evacuees is being examined. Apparently the charter bus company
called Global Limo had a history of driver violations and financial problems. Bloggers discussing the
sad bus accident story can be found here,
here, here, here and here.
$7 gas? Hopefully not! Some refinery damage has been reported by CNN.
Several buildings burned down in Galveston during the storm but the fire was put out
by fireman who quickly rushed to the fire despite Rita's strong winds. Bloggers discussing this incident
can be found here, here,
here, here, here, and here.
IntoxiNation says damages from Rita will be in the billions. Louisiana
was even harder hit than Texas. Cameron, Louisiana appears to have suffered terrible damage.
Under the News reports on the damage from Beaumont, Texas including that the
third-floor of their newsroom is in shambles.
Wikipedia lists the Rita death toll at 28.
More links covering the storm including websites with Rita storm photos
can be found here.
Posted on September 25, 2005
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Blogger Feels Pressure to Blog About Rita
ZDNet has a new article about blogger Brendan Loy who received a lot of web traffic for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina. The article says that Loy has also received a lot of new traffic looking for information about Hurricane Rita. Loy, a 23-year-old law student, told ZDNet that the pressure to blog about Rita is "definitely taking a toll."
"I try to keep reminding myself that I don't have to post stuff to my blog. It's my hobby. It doesn't have to take over my life," said Loy, who lives in South Bend, Ind.
The pressure to produce isn't unique to Loy. It's the plight of many popular bloggers, said Dan Gillmor, a San Francisco Bay Area blogger with a focus on media and technology.
"Blogs are hungry beasts that want to be fed," he said. "Readers should realize, however, that bloggers do have lives outside their computers and cut them some slack -- especially the ones who do it for no financial compensation."
Knowing that his new audience is hungry for Rita coverage, Loy has recruited some guest weather bloggers to help him out. "I don't want to lose the new readers. Web traffic is a fickle thing," he said. "But there's no way I can blog Rita like I blogged Katrina."
Loy is not alone. There are tens of thousands of bloggers covering each storm. However, many of these bloggers are probably not feeling the pressure to keep posts and traffic up like Brendan Loy is. More blogs covering Katrina can be found here and blogs covering Rita can be here.
Posted on September 25, 2005
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Bloggers Cover Rita's Approach and Houston Traffic Chaos
The Numbers -- Hurricane Rita blog posts:
Technorati: Over 40,000 Posts
BlogPulse.com Over 52,000 Posts
IceRocket.com Over 100,000 Posts
Google Blog Search Over 140,000 Posts
Hurricane expert Dr. William Gray says this could be another $100 billion hurricane.
Exit from Galveston and Houston creates a massive 100-mile-long traffic jam traffic jam. People were left stranded on the highway without gas. Local bloggers discuss the traffic here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Some people just gave
up trying to get out of Houston.
There are Hot Towers inside Rita.
Under the News in Beaumont, Texas has a D-Day, before Dawn
post. Beaumont is right in the path of the NHC's current Rita track.
Georgia has canceled public schools for Monday and Tuesday to conserve energy.
The BlogHouston crew is riding out the storm. They have an entry
that lists some local radion stations offering streaming coverage of the storm.
Levees are
failing in New Orleans from Rita. Flooding is occuring the 9th Ward and other areas in the city.
KHOU's blog reports that a bus carrying evacuees from South Texas exploded near Dallas killing 24 people on board. NBC5i has more details.
Chron.com's Rita blog says Minor flooding reporting on Stewart Beach in Galveston.
A list of blog resources for Hurricane Rita can be found in this blog post that we continue to update.
Posted on September 23, 2005
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Hurricane Rita Blogs and News Coverage
Katrina is intensifying and is now a category four storm. The Houston Chronicle has launched a blog for Hurricane Rita. KHOU.com, a local Houston television network is also blogging. Many other bloggers have also turned their focus on dangerous Hurricane Rita. Here is a list of some of the blogs and resources. Update: Rita is now a category five storm
Houston: Rita blog |
KHOU blog |
H-Town Blogs |
BlogHouston | Click2Houston |
104 KRBE Blog |
Lone Star Times |
Is Full of Crap | Generation Why | Jonathon Watmough | The Road Home Blog
Galveston: Liberty's Blog, Galveston County Daily News | Smoke on the Water | Topix.net Galveston | Houston-Galveston Area Emergency Blogger Network | Guidry Online News Station
Dallas: DFW Blogs | DallasNews.com | Star-Telegram | Topix.net Dallas | NBC5i.com
Beaumont: Under the News | Beaumont Enterprise
Corpus Christi: KRISTV Blog
Lake Charles, LA: NWS Lake Charles Rita Blog, KPLC-TV, Topix.net Lake Charles News
Weather Blogs: Science News Blog | Foots Forecast | Storm Track | Dr. Jeff Masters | SciGuy | Weather Channel Blog |
WeatherBlog | Storm Digest | Accuweather blog | Hurricane Harbor |
Steve Gregory's Wunderground Blog | KRBC Weather Blog |
Other Blogs: Hurricane-Rita.org | Stormwatchers | Rita.911blogs.com | Blogs of War | Cajun County Blog | Lake Livingston Rita Blog | Common Hades
Gas Prices: Drivers Drive | The Oil Drum | Refineries in Rita's Path
Other Resources: National Hurricane Center | Texas Text Weather Page | CNN's
Rita tracker | Wikipedia | Flash Hurricane Tracker | Yahoo Full Coverage
Potential Impact on Texas Coast and Houston:
Houston Chronicle feature on possible Houston hit.
Serpent's Coil video
Galveston 1900 Hurricane
Hurricane Carla
Maps: Google Maps Galveston :
Google Maps
Houston | MSN Virtual Earth Galveston | Houston Chronicle Evacuation Map | Evacuation and Risk Maps | Skeetobite Forecast Maps | Texas Population Map | Louisiana Population Map | Interactive NY Times Graphic | Google Map Plot of Rita
Photos: Flickr | Flickr Interesting | Buzznet | CBS News Photos | CNN Photos | Weather.com Slideshow | KHOU.com Photo Gallery | Smugmug.com Rita Photos | NOAA Satellite Images | Rita Images Blog
Some of the blogs covering Hurricane Katrina are also covering Hurricane Rita.
Our Hurricane Katrina links post is located here.
Note: We will update this post from time to time with new Rita-related
blog links. More Rita coverage can be found in our Hurricane Rita section.
Updated 9-28-05 to add NOAA Satellite Images, Google Map Plot of Rita, Lake Livingston Rita Blog, Rita Images Blog, Common Hades
Posted on September 21, 2005
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Bloggers Cover Katrina's Aftermath and Rita's Approach
Dave Barry says not to worry. Herman, the spokescrab (pictured on right) for FEMA for Kids is here to help.
Katrina posts are approaching or past 300,000: Technorati (288,000+),
BlogPulse.com (280,000+)
and IceRocket.com (591,000+).
Doctors fear a second wave of Katrina injuries including "chainsaw people." The Waterglass
blogs this news.
Several bloggers are discussing the 76-year-old man who was rescued 18 days
after New Orleans was flooded. Virtue Blog calls it
an amazing rescue story. Stuff I Think says
Taco Bell was no way to end a fast.
DomeBlog blogs that arrival of some "I Survived Katrina" t-shirts.
MissingKids.com has been added to our Katrina links page.
MSNBC's Katrina blog discusses the Hazmat Hustle and the chipping away at the mess. Dangerous and dirty work but somebody has to do it.
Al Gore brings up global warming. Bloggers respond here, here, here,
here and here.
Gulf Sails points to
the Renew New Orleans Foundation and donation bracelet.
The Bush Adminstraion is now the Katrina Administration.
The 2theadvocate.com blog says don't gorge on those MREs.
The Price is Right runs an untimely episode offering a trip to New Orleans.
Four dolphins rescued. Four still to go.
Josh Britton blogs about oversight of the federal
money flowing into Louisiana.
Wikipedia shows the incomplete Katrina death toll at 973.
Two Alabama residents were busted after pretending to be Katrina victims.
Katrina Aftermath blogs
about a memo that shows Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff delayed the federal response.
Metroblogging has an interesting post titled, Real Police Don't Run.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Rita is forecast to make landfall as a powerful hurricane on the Texas coast. Many blogs are already discussing Rita as we mentioned yesterday. A Houston Chronicle
feature shows what the big one could be like for Houston. Hopefully, Rita
won't be the big one for Houston or any other city.
Posted on September 20, 2005
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The Houston Chronicle's Growing Blog Network
The Houston Chronicle is just one of many newspapers that have been building blog networks as newspapers try and recapture readers that have been lost to the blogosphere. Currently, the Chronicle has a network of over fourteen blogs. Some of the Houston Chronicle's blogs include
the DomeBlog, a blog launched earlier this month, which covers evacuees
from the Superdome that have now relocated to the Astrodome;
SportsJustice, a sports blog by Richard Justice; Bar Tab,
a blog covering the Houston nightlife; Full Disclosure, a business blog by Loren Steffy;
HandStamp, a blog covering the local Houston music scene and TechBlog, a technology blog by Dwight Silverman.
Posted on September 20, 2005
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Bloggers Cover New Gulf Threat from Hurricane Rita
While bloggers continue to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina it looks like another dangerous storm is on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Rita, currently a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65mph is forecast to become Hurricane Rita later today and move just south of the Florida Keys. Rita is then forecast to move in the Gulf of Mexico and head toward the Texas coast. Another storm near the many oil rigs located in the Northern and Northwest Gulf of Mexico will cause oil to spike again and force gas prices upwards. It is still too far out to predict where along the Gulf coast Hurricane Rita will make landfall but it goes without saying that another major hurricane hit is bad news for the U.S. A few of the many blogs already covering Rita include the Sun-Sentinel Hurricane Weblog, WeatherBlog, Weapon of Mass Distraction, 7 Stormteam Weather Blog, Pensacola Beach Blog, Miami Musings, Stormtrack, Houston's Clear Thinkers, Hurricane Harbor, The Houston Conservative, Tropical Storm Rita blog, Storm Videographer, Lazy Iguana, Storm Chasing Mikey and Huffington Post. SciGuy blogs about a Houston Chronicle article that lays out the devastation a major hurricane hit could cause.
In blog search engines, Technorati already lists nearly 1000 posts about Hurricane Rita and IceRocket.com lists over 1,600 posts.
Update: More Hurricane Rita coverage can be found in our Hurricane Rita section.
Posted on September 19, 2005
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