Here is another helpful report sent in from 'Viking' (Bernard G., or the 'Houston Bureau' as sometimes called on urbansurvival.com) in Houston... i.e. potential Rita 'Ground Zero'.
Sept. 21, '05:
[...] I am riding it out, but I know quite a few folks who are bugging out. There are also reports of convoys of Texas National Guard coming home from Louisiana. Texas pols are taking no chances that they will end up looking like the Cajun Kooks next door.
OK, here's a little piece for you to post. [...]
Houston is home to approximately 15% of the North American refining capacity and a significant amount of related chemical production, such as plastics and the like. Houston also has not suffered a major storm since Alicia in 1983. Allison's flooding three years ago caused ~.5 billion in damages just from water. Rita packs more of a threat with high winds.
Katrina put a significant dent in offshore oil and gas production, as well as onshore refining capability. The shocking rise in pump price that resulted was blessedly short-lived, but the destruction to infrastructure was significant and won't be fully repaired for about 6 months or more.
Rita poses a similar threat based on where she lands. The Texas coast produces mostly natural gas, which is primarily used to generate electricity. Texas is a net producer of electricity and sells its remainder to states in the West (as one might recall from California and the Enron scandal).
Houston is home to the second largest port in North America (the first being New Orleans, which suffered major damage just a month ago). The city is also a banking hub, airline hub and has one of the most famous medical centers in the world, not to mention world headquarters for many of the major oil companies. Additionally, Houston is home to NASA's manned space center, where the space station and shuttle flights are operated. The center happens to be in one of the worst flood zones in the city.
So, what can we infer from all of this?
Should Houston sustain a direct and devastating hit, all things petroleum will see price hikes that make Katrina's effect seem pleasant. Four-dollar per gallon gasoline, or more, is not inconceivable. This will include especially plastics and other industrial chemicals. Electricity supply could be deeply affected for the Western states. Not only are there major NG generating plants, but one of the largest and most modern nuclear plants is just south of here.
Depending on how far north Rita gets, she could conceivably wreck more of the offshore industry, further interrupting oil and gas production from a large component of US supply.
Banking records could be affected, although many of those issues were resolved after the destruction of many records during Allison. How badly this item gets remains to be seen.
If the port is out of commission, it's a pretty sure bet that nearly every consumer good in the mid-West and West will shoot up. Having both Houston and New Orleans out of commission means that nearly everything will have to be shipped via truck or train from the east or west coasts, and with fuel prices shooting up, one can appreciate the problem. Texas produces most of North America's cotton, a crop already hit hard by drought this year, and the port of Houston is the primary outlet.
No matter where Rita lands, she is sure to have a further effect on seafood prices. Katrina took out a significant portion of the fishing fleet and heavily damaged oyster beds, shrimping and fishing. By hitting Texas hard, Rita would further interrupt supplies of these items as well as the infrastructure needed to catch and process seafood.
There are, of course, many more items on this list. This is just a taste of what COULD happen. For instance, one potential problem is chemical and oil spills, adding to the virtual poison soup already coming out of New Orleans. Furthermore, Houston is home to about 3 million people with an additional half-million of refugees from New Orleans, to boot. If the hit were bad enough, it would cause the largest mass migration of people in recorded history.
Things to look for: if Rita lands around Freeport at Cat4 or Cat5, this would be the nightmare scenario for Houston, as it would put the "dirty" side of the hurricane right over the city. Even a direct hit on Galveston would not be that bad. Further south or north of Freeport will most likely spare most of the region, as those areas are sparsly populated and consist of mostly beaches and barrier islands. While the natural destruction would be severe, it would spare most of the infrastructure and possibly the entire economy. One more big hit like Katrina would almost certainly push the US into recession and possibly depression.
I understand how you feel. You see, it's all very clear to me now. The whole thing. It's wonderful.