Here in Houston we DO have staggered evac, but there is no way of telling how many people are trying to leave early. Also - Galveston is under mandatory evac, but the storm surge zones near Houston are voluntary until tonight, so those people were free to join the crush. Then there are hugh parts of the city that aren't under evac orders at all, but plenty of them want out too.
President Bush, in a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, urged residents "to listen carefully to the instructions provided by state and local authorities, and follow them."
"We hope and pray that Hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm," he said, "but we got to be ready for the worst."
Early indications were that evacuations were going smoothly. In Galveston, Ms. Thomas said that about 1,500 people without personal transportation were bused from the Island Community Center on Wednesday morning.
In addition to the overnight shuttle to Houston, Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials, who had arrived in the area early Tuesday with six Trinity Railway Express cars and two locomotives capable of carrying about 800 people, said state officials had asked them to start carrying evacuees from Houston to Dallas today.
The governor's office asked that facilities caring for patients with special needs contact the Department of Public Safety at 1-800-525-5555 if they need help transporting them to safety.
Ms. Thomas praised Galvestonians for their response. "People are very committed to getting their families and themselves off the island," she said. "Everybody, I think, has been extremely calm."
Galveston officials announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday and said the southbound lanes of the Interstate 45 bridge would be closed to all but emergency traffic.
Galveston emergency officials, including the mayor, planned to move to the San Luis Hotel, 37 feet above low tide atop two World War II military bunkers.
"I would not recommend it to citizens in general, but that to me is the best place for city staff to be," Ms. Thomas said.
Fleeing Houston
In Houston, Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels requested the evacuation of low-lying areas and mobile home parks Wednesday and said areas along Galveston Bay would be first on the list for mandatory evacuation at 6 a.m. today.
"Use your common sense," Mr. White said at a news briefing. "If you're in a structure that you don't think can withstand wind damage – and I can tell you if it's a mobile home, it won't – please make your plans and leave.
"We are still well out from when the hurricane is expected to hit ... but people need to be making plans now so we're not dealing with freeway congestion."
The Johnson Space Center, in the low-lying Clear Lake area, was closed except for a skeleton crew at noon Wednesday.
Several school districts, including Houston ISD, said they would close today and Friday. "We don't know at this point when we're going to resume classes," district spokesman Terry Abbott said. "There's no way for us to know."
Tom Kornegay, executive director of the Port of Houston, said the last loads were being put on ships Wednesday as vessels headed out to sea to escape the storm. "We're battening down the hatches, getting the last loads out ... not letting more ships in," Mr. Kornegay said. "We are not receiving any more cargo at this time.
"Generally speaking, ships do not want to be in harbor when a storm comes through," Mr. Kornegay said. "They want to be at sea so they can basically run from the storm. ... The only ships we think we'll have after about midnight tonight are a couple of the MARAD ships." MARAD ships make up the U.S. Ready Reserve Fleet, cargo ships kept ready in various ports in case of a national emergency.
Houston's Metropolitan Transit Authority announced it would institute a more limited emergency schedule today: buses every hour and trains every 12 minutes. The system will shut down Friday until further notice.
Hospitals were also getting ready and, where necessary, evacuating patients.
The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston said all except the sickest patients were being taken inland, and staff backed by generators on the third floor could tend to those who couldn't be moved.
A spokesman for the Harris County Hospital District in Houston said workers were making sure emergency facilities are stocked and ready for patients after the storm.
Ben Taub Hospital, the district's main facility, has stayed open during past storms and hopes to continue that tradition, spokesman John Martinez said. "We're preparing for the worst and hoping for the best," he said.
Rice University and the University of Houston announced they were closing today and Friday, and the Museum of Fine Arts and other arts institutions in Houston were making similar plans.
Downtown, skyscraper operators were checking their emergency plans and warning tenants that buildings might be shut down.
Mr. White, the mayor, said a lot depends on self-reliance because there aren't enough public vehicles and facilities to take care of everyone.
"We want you to voluntarily evacuate," he said. "Make your plans to voluntarily evacuate now."
Authorities in coastal communities in Nueces, Victoria, Matagorda, Refugio, Jefferson and Jackson counties took no chances Wednesday, issuing mandatory evacuation orders for residents to head inland by this evening. The city of Sabine Pass also ordered evacuations.
"We're using every known method of communication that we have to alert the citizens that they need to leave," said Jackson County Sheriff Andy Louderback.
The Nueces County evacuation order was extended Wednesday night to include Corpus Christi. The county had already issued an order for people on Matagorda Island, Padre Island and the Flour Bluff area south of Corpus Christi to move inland "high-profile" vehicles: motor homes, RVs and travel trailers. Once a full evacuation order is given, such vehicles won't be allowed on the roads.
FOX News showing bumper to bumper traffic in Houston. Looks like it will be rough going.