By Melissa Plowman
Relief is in the voice of Meara Fagerstrom, when she explains how Hurricane Rita didn?t hit as hard as predicted. Although she hasn?t talked to her parents, who stayed in their home in Humble, Texas because their evacuation wasn?t mandatory, she said she thinks her family is safe.
?The storm wasn?t as bad as expected,? Fagerstrom said. ?I haven?t talked with my parents, but I did talk with my brother, who is in Houston, and he?s fine. I think they lost power really early this morning, and I?m not sure if they have gotten it back on.?
Rebecca Allen, who graduated from BYU last spring but is out in Provo tying up some lose ends, said her family hasn?t gotten home yet from San Antonio, where they evacuated.
?We know that Houston got the best side of the storm,? Allen said. ?Hopefully everything is good. They?ll go back tomorrow. It?s just a matter of getting through the next day of rain.?
Before the storm hit, there was nothing but anxiety on the faces of those who felt worried for their families.
?Our area was voluntary evacuation, so my parents decided to stay,? Fagerstrom said, in the days before Hurricane Rita struck land. ?Everyone on our block evacuated except my parents and an older couple. I haven?t been able to think about anything else. I?m constantly thinking why they haven?t called.?
Fagerstrom?s family was one of the few who decided to stay and wait out the storm. She said her family has been through a couple hurricanes in the past and thought it would be okay. But at one point, she questioned her mother as to the reason for not evacuating.
?She said since she?s from Miami, her whole family went through Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and has to prove that she has enough guts to go through it,? Fagerstrom said. ?It?s a right of passage almost.?
Allen?s family, on the other hand, did evacuate even through her town of Katy also had voluntary evacuation, ?My house is right off of I-10, which is one of the main roads being used for evacuation,? Allen said, before the hurricane hit. ?Everyone?s trying to get out from both sides of the road. My family is waiting for it to open up, so they can leave because it?s so packed.?
Regarding her house, Allen said that she?s not too concerned about it being damaged.
?The most concern that we have directly is falling trees,? Allen said. ?They get blown over and fall into our house and cars. The trees in our yard aren?t huge, but our neighbors around us have huge trees. Chances are if anything happens, it?ll be from trees or powerlines.?
Allen?s family is still evacuated but said they are on their way down tomorrow, she said. Now they just have to get through the after rain from the storm.
?We know Houston got the best side of the storm,? Allen said. ?Hopefully everything is good. We have some friends we talked to, and it?s not bad. I don?t think it did any damage to our house.?
Allen recalled the last hurricane that came through as a Category 3 and said Rita was supposed to be much worse and much stronger.
?I?m glad it didn?t ,? Allen said. ?Even though it?s still something to worry about, it?s not as big of a deal.?
Robin Lamb, public relations major from Friendswood, Texas wasn?t as concerned for her family?s safely as she would have been if they were not able to evacuate. She still has belongings at her home but those weren?t her top priority.
?I made sure my family got out all of the photo albums,? Lamb said. ?We still haven?t put all of them onto disk, and I didn?t want them ruined.?
Lamb also showed distress over those who didn?t have a chance to get out.
?I hope those who decided to stay in a potentially harmful situation are safe,? Lamb said.
Although the students will find out the actual damage from their families in the upcoming week, Fagerstrom said she is s relieved nothing too severe happened.
?This is a major blessing,? she said, with a sigh of relief.