Rita Spares Cities, Devastates Rural Areas

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), in an interview Sunday in Austin, said: "I think what happened in Texas demonstrates that when state, local and federal officials have a plan and work together, it can work successfully."

Still, the response was not trouble-free in the worst-hit areas. In addition to Beaumont, authorities blocked Port Arthur, Orange and other towns, and Louisiana officials in hard-hit areas across the state line made similar pleas for patience, painting a bleak picture of the storm's havoc.

"This is not a livable place," said Dick Nugent, mayor of Nederland, south of Beaumont. "We do not have water yet. We do not have power yet. All we have is a mess."

Frustrations were evident at all levels. Residents caught in the gridlock of evacuation were locked out of their communities. Local officials offered some of the first vocal complaints about the federal response to Hurricane Rita, saying the government was ensnarled in red tape.

"We've got 50 generators sitting on trailers that would get water and sewer back running, but they won't let us unload them," fumed Carl Griffith, the administrative judge of Jefferson County in Texas. "There's still a breakdown of communication between the state and federal government."

Griffith said he was forced to rage at federal authorities to instigate the airlift that took more than 1,300 patients out of local hospitals and nursing homes, and whenever he appealed for help, "All I get is, 'Sorry, can't do that.' "

Across the region, water, electric, telecommunications and other utilities were knocked out, as hundreds of thousands of trees were felled. The home of Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz burned down after the storm passed. "The fire department got there, but they had no water to pump," Griffith said.

Rita, though delivering a weaker-than-anticipated blow, added another major wave of suffering to the Gulf Coast, where 1.4 million people have registered with FEMA for help since Katrina struck. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D), after touring Cameron Parish near the Texas line, reported that "everything is just obliterated."

The Louisiana State University Health Care Services Division, which lost its flagship Charity Hospital in Katrina, evacuated hospitals in Lake Charles, Lafayette and Houma, CEO Don Smithburg said. "The hospitals Katrina didn't blast, Rita did," he said in an interview Sunday.

Entergy, the electric utility for southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas, is bringing in 4,000 linemen and other workers from out of state. But their utility trucks are being led by crews of tree-removal squads that must first clear the roads.

Joe Domino, the CEO of Entergy, met with local officials and acknowledged that Rita was the worst storm he had seen in 35 years with the company. He said it "may be over a month for some customers" before power is restored.

The Energy Department reported Sunday that 1.5 million customers were without power in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi from the damage done by both hurricanes. Entergy warned of rolling blackouts if residents in unaffected parts of the state do not voluntarily cut back on power usage. Temperatures in much of southern Texas were in the nineties Sunday, reaching near-record highs.