Shocking devastation as Rita destroys towns
September 27, 2005 Edition 1
Louisiana: Hurricane Rita's path of devastation along the Texas-Louisiana coast became shockingly clear, as rescuers pulled stranded bayou residents out on skiffs and army helicopters searched for thousands of cattle feared drowned.
The hurricane slammed low-lying fishing villages, shrimping ports and ranches with water up to 2.7m deep.
Seawater pushed as far as 32km inland, drowning hectares of rice, sugarcane fields and pasture.
In the coastal Terrebonne parish, the count of severely damaged or destroyed homes stood at nearly 9 900. About 80% of the buildings in the town of Cameron, which has a population of 1 900, were levelled. Further inland, half of Creole, which 1 500 residents, was left in splinters.
"Cameron and Creole have been destroyed except for the courthouse, which was built on stilts on higher ground," said Army Lt Gen Russel Honore said of Cameron.
The death toll from the second devastating hurricane in a month rose to nine with the discovery of five people in a flat in Beaumont, Texas - killed by carbon monoxide from a generator they were running indoors after Rita knocked out the electricity.
A Texas couple was confirmed killed by an uprooted tree that fell on their home. - Sapa-AP
