Sad situation
We left five hours ahead of my three brothers, in three separate cars. We left at 10:30 on Wednesday morning, they left at 3:30 from Texas City on Wednesday afternoon. As of this morning at 10 a.m., they had gone 10 miles and had ran out of gas. They could not access any roads or move off of a main artery to try to go it alone on a backroad. There are cars littered by the side of the road. Parents out walking their children and dogs after 26 hours in the car. It is brutal. Was Houston prepared to evacuate five million people? The answer is a resounding 'Hell No.'

The government should have been here to oversee this and the National Guard should have been moving people out of Houston. As of 4:27 p.m. CST, there is no National Guard and police just have to pass you by. They have no gas to offer and no solutions. I made it to my evacuation point, my three brothers have not. They have found someone's house to stay in that is empty and for sale. They are the lucky ones. Other people are having nervous breakdowns by the side of the road. Sad, really sad.
--Mary McKinney, Houston, Texas

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Traffic discouraging
I'm located in north Houston close to the Tomball area and am not under mandatory evacuation however a call to the HC-OEM director suggested that I leave the city if possible. Unfortunately I can't. I spent 3 hours in traffic yesterday and traveled a total of half a mile, while using a third of a tank of gas. I now must decide if I want to hunker in my car or in my apartment when the hurricane hits. Traffic is at a standstill despite the mayor’s best efforts to get it going, gas is increasingly difficult to find, and it is close to 100 degrees outside. Cars are overheating and people are getting heat exhaustion. I am all but completely cut off from using the phone since I am getting the now notorious "the network is busy" message. Regardless, I have bottled water and canned food and will ride out the weather and pray for the best. Please keep everyone in this storms path in your minds and pray and wish us the best. We appreciate it!
--Melissa Betts, Houston, Texas

Not sure what to do
To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what I'm going to do in regards to the hurricane. When I first heard of it in school, it didn't seem vital for me to leave. I was planning on going to work on my scheduled days of Thursday and Saturday. I figured that people were panicking because of the effects of Katrina. However, we don't have a levy to worry about, so I figured I'll be fine. As time passed my fear grew. At work (target) I witnessed people buying mass items of food, we ran out of water, batteries, flashlight, and other items. Then yesterday on my way to work, I took Highway 6 for my usual 10-minute route to work. Turns out that highway 6 is an "evacuee highway" so I was trapped on the highway for nearly an hour and a half opposed to my usual 10 minute drive. when I was jus about to cross 59 my car overheated. It wasn't until then had I noticed that the gas stations were boarded up along with other stores around the highway. Then I realized that this was serious. My father came and picked me up from the highway, and when I got home I told my parents that I want to leave with them and they told me we're going to Dallas. So at 3 o clock in the morning today (Thursday) we left. The highways were so packed people broke through the HOV lane, and we decided to come back. Now I’m sitting at home scared, watching valuable time pass.
--Charisse Bankett, Missouri City, Texas

People are giving up…
The ridiculousness of this evacuation is that people are seriously trying to leave the Houston/Gulf area but CAN'T. Traffic is horrible; cars are overheating, stalling, and running out of gas. My mom is stuck when she's prepared all yesterday to leave. Her car is packed with food, supplies, ID, insurance, etc. but she cannot leave. Katrina does not want to be repeated and people are heeding the warning but the reversal of the outbound lanes is taking too long and should have been implemented sooner. People are now giving up and staying home because of the horrible traffic. Something needs to be seriously done and done quickly. If not, the citizens will once again question the government and authorities that they depend on.
--Jenny, Houston, Texas

Hope to see Galveston house again
We boarded up our beach house in Galveston on Wednesday morning and figured it was the last time we would see the home we just bought in January and spend 4 grueling months remolding. We left the deserted city at 2pm. It was very surreal when we drove out. It was as if a nuclear bomb had gone off and we were the only survivors. The drive which usually takes about 1.5 hours to our Northwest Houston home took in excess of 5 hours. We were forced to take small back roads and finally made the journey home. This morning we were prepared to head to Austin if the storm looked like a direct hit but have decided to stay in our home. The gridlock on the roadways is real and even a short trip the local grocery store can take hours and the lack of gas is another real problem. We have enough water and food to last us a week and we are here to stay.
--Marilyn Carson. Spring, Texas and Galveston, Texas

Been through it before
I live in Hillje, Texas, in Wharton County, about 30 miles inland from Matagorda Bay. I live alone in a 4 bedroom home. I spent the day Wednesday having my house boarded up by my family (I'm 83 years old) and packing things that are important to me -- family pictures and important documents. It's so hard not to want to bring along my cherished keepsakes that I have spent a lifetime collecting. My grandson and I drove ourselves and his three horses to his dad's home in Johnson City, west of Austin. We left at 9:30 p.m. and arrived in Johnson City at 4:00 a.m. This trip normally takes three hrs. I have six children, all have evacuated or will do so by early morning to where we are staying or other areas around Austin. One of my daughters and her husband were able to get a hotel room in Austin. I am worried about what this storm will do to my home and rental properties in El Campo. I remember Carla so well - we had a bay home near Palacios that was wiped away. The main thing is that we're all going to be safe away from the worst of the storm when it hits.
-- Elizabeth Skrovan, Hillje, Texas

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CONTINUED : More reports from people preparing for Rita

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