By Bonnie Boyd
Tropical Storm Rita became a level-two hurricane with 100 mph winds Tuesday morning and will possibly gain strength by the time it reaches the Gulf Coast.
Concerns that Rita will hit New Orleans and Texas are real. New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has suspended re-entry until further notice.
?We made a decision, based on our ability to bring people safely back and our ability to care for them,? Nagin said in a press release. ?With Rita, we have to adjust our plans and err on the side of caution.?
Nagin said anything more than 9 inches of rain or a 3-foot storm surge could overwhelm the levees.
Texas is also bracing for Rita. Voluntary evacuations have already taken place along the coast.
A hit to Texas could cause yet another ripple effect throughout the United States in gasoline prices.
Since Katrina?s furry was felt in the Gulf Coast, 4.5 percent of the gulf?s normal production has been shut off. Federal agencies told the AP it is impossible to tell from its survey how many off?shore oil platforms need to be re-evacuated because of Rita?s threat.
Along the Florida Keys and most of the southern tip of the state, more than 80,000 residents and tourists participated in a mandatory evacuation. Rainfall of 6 to 15 inches is possible in the Keys, with up to five inches expected to fall across southern Florida.
?It?s not going to be a New Orleans, but they will see some flooding,? said Navy Lt. Jennifer Pralgo, a storm surge specialist at the Hurricane Center, to the AP.
Heidi Acevedo, a graduate in community health from BYU, has family in southern Florida and is experienced with hurricane seasons.
?Last year we had six or seven hurricanes that came close,? Acevedo said.
Last October Hurricane Charley left many in Florida homeless. Acevedo and other members of the LDS church were asked to help out Stewart County, instead of listening to General Conference.
?Stewart got hit twice in two weeks, and that is what caused so many problems,? Acevedo said. ?When we got to the stake center it was full of supplies, generators and chain saws, and we spent our time removing piles of debris.?