Hurricane Rita Was No Lady

[Steve Kroenke]

Well, Hurricane Rita hit the coastal areas of northeast Texas and southwest Louisiana and inflicted great harm to many folks in those locations. I believe Lake Charles, Louisiana has a very large purple martin population and this city was hit hard by Rita. I would suspect that a number of martin houses were either blown down or severely damaged by the strong winds and water surge. Numerous other martin houses were probably destroyed where Rita came ashore and continued her march north.

Rita continued to move north right up the border between Texas and Louisiana. On Fox News and the Weather Channel, I watched the storm slowly progress toward my area of northwest Louisiana. She was still generating hurricane force winds while moving inland near Jasper, Texas and she was heading directly for the Shreveport area. I was worried.

By early Saturday morning September 24, her winds begin to hit my area. I was up around 2:00 am and couldn?t go to sleep. Since my location is completely open, Rita?s intensity seemed amplified as there are no large nearby forests to offer some resistance to the winds. It seemed she was still creating hurricane force winds, but the highest speed gusts were probably around 60 mph. Soon my electricity was gone and so was the phone service. All Saturday morning and most of the day Rita?s winds howled and the rain poured down in horizontal sheets. Ironically, we desperately needed the rain as this area of Louisiana has been drought stricken for weeks. The eye seemed to pass directly over us and by late afternoon most of the windy rainy weather was subsiding. We did get our electricity on by mid-day on Sunday September 25 and phone service was functioning by Wednesday afternoon September 28.

As a precaution, my neighbor, Bob, and I had lowered all our martin housing and I am glad we did. We had no losses to our martin housing. We didn?t know how strong the winds would be and some forecasters were predicting hurricane force gusts in our area.

While watching the storm raging, I saw two little barn swallows battling the winds as they fluttered around my metal storage building which is full of martin housing. They seemed to be trying to find a place to get out of the weather. Finding none, they continued flying south while the winds blew from the east/northeast.

It is possible that many martin houses and gourd racks have been destroyed by Katrina in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. She hit prime martin territory and the devastation along these coastal areas is immense. Coastal Mississippi looks like a nuclear holocaust and this region has MANY martin colonies. Rita also hit prime martin country in coastal southwest Louisiana and northeast Texas and possibly wiping out some housing.

The impact of Katrina and Rita on migrating martins is unknown, but could be significant, particularly at major coastal roost locations. I have seen some barn and tree swallows migrating through our area, including small numbers just after Rita passed and on the next day. I have not seen any martins.

The issue is what will happen in 2006 to all these martin colonies where the housing has been destroyed. Many of the human landlords lost their homes, too. I suspect that many martins will be returning ?home? in 2006 and finding nothing there. Since martins are strong flyers, they will no doubt disperse and seek housing first in their immediate location. If suitable cavities are unavailable, then I would guess many of these martins will continue to disperse farther inland or along the coast. If this holds true, then these martins may be populating existing and new colony sites many miles away. Ironically, these hurricane disasters may help other sites located away from the devastation to increase in size or become colonized for the first time because the original colony housing has been destroyed and not replaced in 2006.

Steve

[John Miller]

Steve

Your assessment puts into words what I've been assuming was true, and it's sad for purple martins -- although as a species I guess they'll eventually recover in these areas.

I wish there was some way we landlords could help get martin housing to folks who lost theirs, and need help getting some back up. If any smart folks here have ideas, we do have time before next spring to organize something. I'd certainly be glad to prepare and donate a few gourds, and I'm sure you would as well.

John Miller,
St. Louis, Mo

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

Glad to see you are ok and back on the forum, Steve. I too was watching lthe weather channel and was worried about you and Toney Fredrickson seeing that Rita was heading over your area. Yes, next spring will be intersting to see what happens and how the martins will react to the changed landscape.

[Davlyn]

Good to here that you are okay and that both you and Bob did not lose
any pm housing. Its sure sad for all the people and the martins who lost
their homes, my heart goes out to all. Glad to see you back!

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Steve, I am glad that your place survived the winds, and that your martin housing is also OK. My housing also survived the storm. I was cutting downed trees yesterday at my niece's house near Beaumont, Tx. She has 1-1/2 acres in a subdivision of about 300 homes, and I have never seen so many downed trees in my life. She had 18 pine trees blown over, most of them about 80 to 100 ft tall, and they all missed her house! I saw many houses, about 80% with trees on some part of the hosue. I saw 2 houses where the large tree hit it dead center, and got within 4ft of the concrete slab. They don't expect to get water or elec for several weeks. The sheer volume of the amount of work there is staggering. I got 5 trees cut up in her front yard, and everything was taken out beside the street from her front yard. Its practically 1-way traffic thru those subdivisions.

It is a sight that staggered me! Seeing it on TV is OK, but if you see the place in real life, it seems to be 20 times as bad as TV shows it to be. Really a sight that I will never forget.

[Steve Kroenke]

John,

Martins are resilient and will recover, particularly in the Deep South where martins are abundant. But, there needs to be housing available for them in those areas hard hit by the hurricanes. I would suspect that many martins will move farther inland or eventually along the coastal areas until they can find available housing.

Yes, I would be willing to give some housing to anyone in that area who needs it for their returning martins.

Steve

Dhurdtmn,

Thanks for those words! We survived! Louisiana sure has suffered this year from hurricanes. I felt like I have been living again in Florida!

Steve

Davlyn,

Thanks for the kind words. We do feel fortunate. Hurricanes tend to deteriorate in intensity as they move inland. But Rita remained rather strong for a good distance inland.

Steve

Emil,

I am glad you had no problems at your place and your niece?s house survived. Trees are beautiful and I like them. But when you have big tall ones near your house and a hurricane hits, then the trees can do more damage than the winds. I remember in Tallahassee during mid-November of 1985 when Hurricane Kate hit our area. She was only a category one storm but her winds brought down hundreds of trees in the Tallahassee area, damaging homes and shutting off electricity. Some folks didn?t have power for weeks. Fallen trees were everywhere. After that experience, I never allowed any tall trees to be near my home. Just like you said, you have to see the destruction first hand to really understand what a hurricane can do. Seeing the destruction on TV is one thing, but experiencing it or walking through a destroyed neighborhood really tears at your soul.

Steve

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Steve, you are right about those trees. First thing I told my niece was that no wonder peoples homes are damaged with all those trees near the house, she said that was the beauty of the place! But she said that she will cut all the pines down for sure, keep a few short sweetgum trees. The pine trees are very easily uprooted, the sweetgums did not get uprooted, some limbs were broken on the sweetgums, but not a single sweetgum tree fell down.

I cut down a hugh pecan tree (36in dia) last year, the largest limb went over our garage, so I cut it down. I don't want trees close to my house, period!

[db]

Steve, Happy to see that you and your property survived. Even 130 miles inland, I've got lots of respect for these tropical systems......db

[db]

Steve, Happy to see that you and your property survived. Even 130 miles inland, I've got lots of respect for these tropical systems......db

[Guest]

Hi Steve, Emil and all, as usual, Steve has hit it all on the head. I have (as usual) been worrying about the impact that all of this nightmare weather, on the martins, and of course the other precious animals out there. As Emil said, the trees have been a nightmare as well for the people hit. My girlfriend has family in Mississippi that had an awesome estate, but it now has 19 huge trees lying in the middle of it, and the roads are impossible to get through for the people who live there. We have a city full (San Antonio) that is busting at the seams with refugees from both hurricanes, and it is all such a horrible horrible tragedy. It is the one good thing though, to have been able to sign on and see that there is one little light at the tunnel, and hope still abounds. Thank you Steve for being safe, and Emil, you take care friend..all I can say is God Bless America and the good people in it!!

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Steve, I forgot to tell you, at my niece's house, in that subdivision, the only damage to the houses was caused by falling trees.


Holly, our area also accepted many of the refugees, and my statement about that is this: The people that live above sea level should not leave home, and fill up all the roads & motels. Storm shelters could be built (below ground or above ground), inside a home or outside a home. FEMA has requirements so the idea is there. Look at all the problems that would be solved if the people all had storm shelters. The govt & FEMA spend more money on evacuations than they spend on storm shelters. It needs to be the opposite. The only problem would then be electricity.

Solution: cut down all the trees that could cause damage near homes & power lines, and build storm shelters..

[Guest]

Emil, that is a very great observation. For those that are well above sea level, it would be awesome if some shelters of their own safety could be built. That would have indeed, allowed more of those that were truly in harms way, to get out of town. I am not a politician, and I do not want to fluff anyones feathers, but when I hear how the government failed miserably, how can it be planned for millions of people to evacuate by highways, without problems? Just driving in Houston during rush hour traffic on a normal day is a nightmare, but you try to get the whole city evacuated, along with the outlying towns and cities? I cannot phanthom coming up with a plan for all of this. Don has said that he heard of many families driving out of Houston in their individual automobiles, one to a car, now things such as this takes up tons of space on the roads..oh so many things to consider in these days of ours isn't it? My best friend tried, needed to, but could not even get out of Houston. Thanks be to God that she escaped harm, but as you said Emil, she was one of those that truly needed to get out, but couldn't. I know that I personally have tried to see to it that I have made an emergency kit for Don and myself, and have seen to it that we have extra prescriptions as well. I am one of those that has also put away plenty of water for the furbabies, food, etc. I always thought that preparing for tragedy would be up to some one else, but now that it has happened, it has opened my eyes. I used to whine about wanting to move to a newer home, do this, do that, but after we received so many refugees that are living right up the street from us in a mall, I would stop and visit with some of them that I would see walking aimlessly up and down the street. I was so heartbroken to see an elderly man pushing a very older woman in a wheelchair, and they were so grateful that I even cared to stop my car and talk to them and let them know that people do care. It did my heart good to be able to give them whatever money I had available, and to see tears come out of their eyes, was the greatest gift I have ever received. Oh how I pray for these people who have lost everything, I pray for the nation to heal, and I pray for all of Gods creatures that were also caught in the path of such a terror. Emil, please give your niece our best...and take care my friend

[Steve Kroenke]

Db,

I appreciate your thoughts. I lived in Florida all my life prior to moving to Louisiana. I experienced several hurricanes in the north Florida area and their destructive nature can indeed reach inland. Fortunately, these were only Category 1 storms I believe.

Steve

Holly,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Oh those trees! Those huge pine trees will come down during heavy winds and can crush a house. Tall trees are beautiful, but I prefer not to have them real close to my home. You never know when a powerful thunderstorm may roll through and bring the tree down. We in Louisiana don't need anymore hurricanes!

Steve

Emil,

You are so RIGHT about those tall pine trees! During Hurricane Kate in 1985, the main destruction to peoples' homes and power lines were caused by pine trees. The winds did not do that much damage. I lost several HUGE pine trees, but fortunately they did not fall on my house. I had ALL the tall trees near my home removed after that hurricane experience.

Steve