Rita: Get out says White House
2005-09-23 15:02
Washington - The White House had simple instructions Thursday for Americans in areas expected to be hit by powerful Hurricane Rita: "Get out."
"Hurricane Rita is an extremely dangerous storm," said spokesperson Scott McClellan. "The best thing that people can do who are in the path of the storm is to get out, to evacuate."
US President George W Bush, under fire over Washington's widely criticised response to Hurricane Katrina, has spoke twice in two days with Governor Rick Perry of Texas, where the storm was expected to make landfall, he said.
Officials were "very much focused" on Rita's potential impact on New Orleans, the once glittering jazz capital turned flooded ghost-town in Katrina's wake," said McClellan.
"The concern with New Orleans right now is the rainfall and the weakened state of the levees, and the additional rainfall that could lead to flooding and pose problems in New Orleans," said the spokesperson.
McClellan said Washington was prepositioning federal troops to respond to Rita "to provide help with relief", stressing the US Coast Guard would play a key role in search and rescue operations.
"We've positioned a lot of federal resources in the region to assist with the evacuations that are going on and to provide commercial aircraft, buses, and other transportation needs - rail cars," he said.