Detailed chronology of the Rita hurricane

Detailed chronology of the Hurricane Rita

to limit confusions, the hours indicated here are French (CEST = UTC +2);
l' local time in Louisiana and in the Mississippi is the American summer-time central (CDT) = UTC -5;
l' local time on the Atlantic coast and in Florida is the American summer-time of the East (EDT) = UTC -4.

Thursday September 22nd 2005.

10:00: With London, the oil prices continue to go up under the threat of the Rita hurricane, which reaches a power equal to Katrina and moves right on oil installations of the Gulf of Mexico.
10:55: Rita, monstrous cyclone of force 5, the most raised, carries on its road towards the coasts of the Texas, which it should touch on Friday night.
12:15: The International agency of energy could decide in the urgency to resolve oil resources if a rupture of provisioning occurred after the passage of Rita, declares Claude Mandil, director of the Agency.
15:20: The Rita cyclone, which should strike the coasts texanes in the night of Friday or Saturday morning early, can be " potentially catastrophique" , the National center of hurricanes (NHC) informs.
16:50: The German chemical groups Bayer, BASF and Lanxess announce closing by precaution of the quasi totality of their factories in the State of the Texas.
17:30: The governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco request with the residents of the coastal areas of his State to leave towards north.
17:40: A study of Canadian bank TD (Toronto Dominion) affirms that the course of crude oil will probably go down again around 45 US dollars the barrel towards the beginning 2007.
18:05: George W. Bush declares that the United States, " on all the levels of the government, prepare with the pire" with the arrival of the Rita cyclone.
19:15: The German Airline company Lufthansa announces the cancellation of its flights bound for Houston with the Texas, threatened by the Rita cyclone.
19:30: The Chimiste French Rhodia will close its three sites in the south of the the United States, with the Texas.
19:45: The Rita cyclone reduced its power and was retrogressed of category 4 on the scale of Saffir-Simpson which counts 5 of them, announces the National center of the Hurricanes.
19:50: The American military authorities dispatched helicopters and teams of specialists in communication to the Texas, indicates a spokesperson of the Pentagone.
21:30: The island of Galveston, with the Texas, is evacuated to 90%, announces a municipal person in charge.
22:25: The American State Department advises the abroads who would be in the area of Houston, with the Texas, to contact their embassies.
22:40: All the American coast of the Gulf of Mexico must be in alarm with the approach of Rita, informs the director by interim of the Federal agency of the emergencies (FEMA).
22:45: The American oil giant ExxonMobil announces to have suspended his operations in his installations which are in the supposed trajectory of Rita, on the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico.
22:45: The Governor of the Texas, Rick Perry request with George W. Bush to deploy 10.000 soldiers in the State to help with aid operations after the passage of the Rita cyclone.
23:15: The Rita cyclone, of category 4, threat potentially 27,5% of the American capacity of refining, informs the American Institute of oil (API).

Friday September 23rd 2005.

00:10: The American airline companies Continental Airlines and Southwest Airlines announce the suspension of their flights at the beginning and bound for Houston, with the Texas, starting from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning.
00:50: The first strong downpours caused by the fringes of the Rita cyclone started to fall down Thursday afternoon with the Orleans News.
02:35: The Rita cyclone made a first indirect victim with the Texas after death by exhaustion of an old woman wedged in a congestion.
03:40: The National center of the hurricanes invites the inhabitants and the authorities of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to accelerate the operations, in an official statement.
10:35: The oil prices are folded up after the requalification of Rita in cyclone of force 4 in the Gulf of Mexico and its light deviation in the east, which could enable him to avoid the important refineries of the Texas.
14:50: A bus transporting of the evacuees took fire close to Dallas, to the Texas, killing 15 people, bring back local televisions.
15:00: The number of died in the fire of a transporting bus of the evacuees fleeing the arrival of Rita close to Dallas, with the Texas, amounts to 20, bring back the local television channels.
15:30: Approximately a million people left the town of Houston (Texas) and its agglomeration to flee the next arrival of the Rita cyclone of which 15.000 which was evacuated by the authorities, announces the town hall of the city.
15:30: The French authorities call the French being in the areas of the south of the United States threatened by the Rita cyclone to be announced near the embassy of France to Washington.
16:00: The French Ministry for Foreign Affairs calls the French nationals residing in the sector of the south of the United States concerned with the Rita hurricane to leave this zone.
16:30: The president George W. Bush expresses his sadness after the fire of a bus of evacuation close to Dallas, with the Texas, which cost the life at least 20 people.
16:40: Crude oil opens in fall with New York, as the Rita cyclone weakens and deviates its race towards the east, even if it remains a potential threat for oil installations of the Gulf of Mexico.
16:45: A district of La Nouvelle-Orléans, Ninth Ward (the ninth district), located at the east of the French District (Old square), is again flooded, of water having submerged a dam, announces a spokesperson of the Body of the engineers of the American Army.
16:50: The mayor of Houston, Bill White, request with the inhabitants who did not leave the city yet, to seek to shelter by estimating that it was from now on too late to leave, before the arrival envisaged of the Rita cyclone.
17:50: Oil accentuates its fall at the beginning of meeting with New York, whereas the Rita cyclone weakens slightly according to last information of the National center of hurricanes (NHC).
17:55: The Rita cyclone slightly weakened but the meteorologists always regard it as a dangerous and major cyclone when it strikes Saturday the American coast early, according to the National center of hurricanes (NHC).
21:30: Descended of category 3, it still has winds of 200 km/h (sources NHC).

Saturday September 24th 2005.

04:30: George W. Bush gives up going to the Texas to follow measurements taken to the approach of the Rita cyclone, preferring to go directly in a base of the Colorado, from where the intervention of the soldiers is coordinated.
05:15: Pouring rain accompanied by gusts of wind falls down on the southern part of the Texas several hours before the arrival on the ground, envisaged at dawn, of the Rita cyclone.
05:50: The National center of hurricanes (NHC) based with Miami prevents that the Rita cyclone was to only 90 km of the American coast to 03:00 GMT.
07:25: The National center of the hurricanes announces that with 05:00 GMT the Rita cyclone was to 65 km of the American coast and must touch ground in the hours to come.
08:15: The periphery of the eye of the cyclone strikes the southern part of the the United States between the Texas and the Louisiana indicates the National center of Hurricanes (NHC).
09:35: The eye of the Rita cyclone reaches the American coast, according to the NHC.
10:30: Rita approaches the continent with winds to 200 km/h, according to the NHC. The eye of the cyclone is in the east of the coastal town of Sabine Pass at the border of the Texas and the Louisiana, according to the same sources. The hurricane derives towards north to approximately 20 km/h. The meteorologists envisage more than 60 cm of precipitations.
11:35: The Rita cyclone carries on its road inside the south of the the United States and moves in direction of the North-West at the speed of 19 km/h. It should be directed gradually towards north, indicates the NHC.
12:40: The American secretary with Health, Mike Leavitt, declares the state of emergency with the Texas and in Louisiana.
13:40: The passage of Rita in the south-east of the town of Houston to the Texas deprived to this morning 500.000 people of current in the metropolis texane, where no direct victim was to be deplored 06:00 shortly after local (11. 00 GMT), according to the mayor Franck Michel.
13:55: The Rita cyclone weakened while penetrating inside the grounds above the Texas, passing to category 2 on the scale Saffir-Simpson which counts five of them, according to the National center of hurricanes (NHC).
14:45: Several buildings of the historical quarters of Galveston, an island located at some 70 km in the south of Houston to the Texas took fire, according to journalistic sources.
15:20: The mayor of Houston, Bill White states that its city holds out vis-a-vis the attacks of the Rita cyclone. On the other hand it announces its anger in front of the difficulties of supply gasoline having blocked the evacuations before the hurricane.
16:40: The president George W. Bush must go to the Texas, initially with Austin, the capital, then with San Antonio, in the west, where it will spend the night.
17:00: Rita decreases quickly by intensity with winds of 120 km/h, retrogressing with category 1, but remains accompanied by torrential rains.
18:00: " One can already say that the damage caused by Rita is much less important than those of Katrina" , ensured Robert Hartwig, economist chief of the Institute of information on the insurances.
18:30: The Rita cyclone should cost " between 2,5 and 5 billion dollars" with the insurers, according to the estimates of the group of forecast of the risks AIR Worldwide. The cabinet had estimated between 17 and 25 billion dollars the damage related to Katrina.
20:50: The director of the Federal agency of the emergencies (FEMA), David Paulison, announces that the Rita cyclone did not make of death.
20:55: The American ministry of Energy is prudently optimistic that the Rita cyclone will cause only tiny disturbances in the supply oil.

Sunday September 25th 2005.

00:00: The mayor of La Nouvelle-Orléans, Ray Nagin announces that he hopes to authorize the progressive return of the inhabitants in the districts the least touched by the cyclones Katrina and Rita as of Monday.
12:45: The pope Benoît XVI requested for the people touched by the Rita hurricane at the time of his last mass pronounced since his residence of summer of Castel Gandolfo.
20:00: Only one direct victim of the hurricane is for the moment to be regretted. 1,3 million subscribers in four States of the South of the United States do not have any more a electricity.

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