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Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                Chris Elliott                        Zach Lee                  Christian Palmer
                Geronimo Rodriguez       Blake Whitaker       Kristen Young

Texas can never be too prepared for hurricanes

It's not yet hurricane season, but Gov. Rick Perry is already starting to prepare the state by ordering officials Tuesday to develop a more detailed evacuation plan.

Hurricane Rita was nowhere near the size of Katrina by the time it hit Texas shores in September, but that didn't stop 3 million residents from leaving their homes and clogging the freeways in search of safety.

In the face of that number, the fact that only about 60 people died seems nothing short of remarkable; it is both a sign of the civility of those people evacuating and the strength of the previous plan. 

There have been countless complaints however, and many of them have merit. Motorists evacuating were sometimes stuck in their cars for hours without a chance to exit, and when they were able to get off the freeway, gasoline was hard to find. 

The executive order utilizes almost all of the recommendations made by a task force charged with figuring out how to more efficiently handle evacuations, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.

State officials must now devise a plan for one-way traffic, and the Texas Department of Transportation must find a way to provide fuel for evacuees. In addition, the emergency management division needs to organize a database of people who would need help evacuating and where they live. 

If state officials comply, Perry's executive order could go a long way toward preparing Houston for the catastrophe Rita could easily have been if luck hadn't played such a role. 

The disorganization of state officials and confusion of evacuees could have been catastrophic if Rita had hit Galveston as a Category 5 like meteorologists first predicted. The task force found that many evacuees -- possibly thousands -- turned around and went home rather than face gridlocked roadways without air-conditioning or water. 

Perry has taken a large step toward eliminating such chaos and the immense risk to life it poses, and Texas will be better prepared the next time a worst-case scenario approaches its coastline.