GALVESTON — With Hurricane Rita speeding up, Galveston has moved up its timeline to prepare for Hurricane Rita.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas on Tuesday morning issued a voluntary evacuation statement to take effect immediately.
“It’s time to get on the highway,” she said.
Thomas on Monday said she would likely call for Galvestonians to leave voluntarily Tuesday afternoon.
But after a Tuesday morning conference call with state officials, she decided to call for an evacuation immediately. Forecasters had expected Rita to send tropical-storm-force winds into the Texas coast at 6 p.m. Friday. They now expect those winds to come ashore at 10 a.m.
The storm is expected to strike the coast somewhere between Beaumont and Corpus Christi. It could come ashore as a major hurricane.
Thomas and City Manager Steve LeBlanc were meeting early Tuesday afternoon with officials from throughout the county. A county-wide mandatory evacuation order was expected to be a main topic of discussion.
Thomas said that if a mandatory evacuation were declared, she anticipated that it would take effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
On Monday, the mayor said that a county-wide evacuation would likely go in phases, with Galveston residents leaving first.
Once a mandatory evacuation is in place, residents will have to take routes spelled out in the state’s hurricane-evacuation plan.
“This is the time to take your own path,” LeBlanc said.
City buses will begin carrying residents who do not have transportation off the island at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The buses will leave from the Island Community Center at 4700 Broadway.
Residents who plan to take the buses and those who need help getting to the community center should call 409-797-3710 to make reservations.
About 800 residents have made reservations so far and LeBlanc said the buses have the capacity to get 2,300 people off the island. Houston Metro buses are available if more are needed.
Thomas said that residents with special needs will be boarded first, then those with reservations.
The buses will take pets. But the pets must be in cages bearing the name of the owner and the pet. The pet itself should also have that information affixed to it.
Shelters for evacuees will be open in Huntsville Wednesday morning with a capacity to hold 1,000 evacuess, LeBlanc said. With 800 residents already signed up to leave, and more sure to come, additional space will be needed.
“Huntsville is supposed to take all of Galveston County’s evacuees,” LeBlanc said. “We will overwhelm them.”
To make sure that all group homes and assisted-living communities are ready, Thomas is asking that they submit their evacuation plans to City Hall by 5 p.m.
