Houston Natives Evacuate With New Orleans on Their Minds

Sept. 21, 2005 — -- A watercolor painting of New Orleans is among the personal possessions that will fill the car of a Houston family evacuating in advance of Hurricane Rita.

Two months ago, Kathy Cross and her husband were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in New Orleans. With memories of Bourbon Street fresh in her mind, she's packing a souvenir from the trip while hoping Hurricane Rita will spare her hometown the type of damage she saw Hurricane Katrina leave behind.

"Maybe she'll stay west?" Cross said hopefully. "Certainly don't want New Orleans to get it … couldn't see those people getting that again, but I don't want it either. I don't want anyone to have it but you live by the coast -- it's just what you live with."

During Katrina, she went days with no word from one of her two sisters who lives in Mississippi, so she's preparing for Hurricane Rita by compiling lists of family phone numbers and e-mails to remain in contact. Her sister was fortunate enough to survive Katrina with just minimal damage to her home.

"It kind of makes us realize that life can change in an instant," said Cross.

The 48-year-old said she's impressed with the orderly response in Texas this week, as those who first sheltered Hurricane Katrina's evacuees use that experience to prepare for their own potential storm.

Cross said she and her family have been boarding up the windows of their Houston home and moving personal possessions to higher floors in case of flooding. She also managed to fill her car up with gas before noticing some nearby stations running out of fuel as her neighbors also geared up to evacuate.

"People are paying attention to this. It may turn and not hit us this bad, but do you take that chance?" she asked.

As Hurricane Rita was upgraded to a Category 4 storm, Cross and her immediate family began to work out plans to evacuate.

They'll drive roughly four hours to San Antonio and stay with strangers who are welcoming them, due to a mutual friend. While five of them will arrive with a dog and two cats, she fears her 79-year-old father will refuse to make the trip away from home.

Cross said she finds herself thinking of those in New Orleans, and having more sympathy for those who remained in the city during its storm.