Tens of Thousands Flee Texas, Louisiana as Hurricane Approaches
23 September 2005
Tens of thousands of residents are evacuating parts of Texas and Louisiana as Hurricane Rita barrels toward land.
Officials say as many as 24 elderly evacuees may have been killed after their bus caught fire on a congested highway outside Dallas Friday.
Evacuees have been stuck for hours in massive traffic jams. Roads are lined with vehicles that have run out of gas.
The National Weather Service says the hurricane is about 420 kilometers southeast of Galveston, Texas, with winds near 225 kilometers per hour.
The Category 4 storm is expected to make landfall by early Saturday. Coastal storm surge flooding of up to six meters is possible.
President Bush is to check on storm preparations during visits Friday to Texas and the military's Northern Command in Colorado.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for New Orleans and the surrounding area, which are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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