We had a front-row seat when Houston evacuated before Hurricane Rita. Our front door is three blocks off I-45, the main route north out of Houston. We had planned on evacuating but even by Wednesday afternoon the roads were gridlocked. The storm wasn't going to hit until Saturday.
Random rememberances:
1. Getting out of our neighborhood was impossible as we exit right on to I-45.
2. Getting back to our neighborhood was also very, very tough.
3. Businesses with large parking lots along I-45 turned into refugee camps. People were running out of gas, cars were breaking down, and people were just wearing out. They'd pull into the parking lots and set up "camp". The amount of garbage left behind was incredible.
4. People drove like maniacs through ditches, wrong way down streets, along shoulders, all at really high rates of speed. Pee on the side of the road at your own risk!
5. If you could see it on a map so could 100,000 other people.
6. A normal 4-hour drive took a MINIMUM of 19 hours.
7. Service stations had no gas for the evacuation and the return!
8. The gridlock prevented gas tankers from refilling gas stations.
9. Lots of people who didn't need to flee did. Usually taking two or more cars.
10. It'd be hard to carry too much gasoline, but store it safely and hidden. Hidden in suitcases tied to the roof works.
11. Strangers can be suprisingly kind.
12. If you abandon your car it WILL be broken into and stripped.
13. Police blocked I-45 on/off-ramps from Houston to half-way to Dallas to keep the traffic flowing "smoothly". Once you were on the road you could not exit except by driving through the ditch.
14. People wanted ice and gas.
15. 2 mph in 100F heat is HOT!!! Drink lots of water.
16. Running your AC in the above situation will overheat your car and suck your gas. A fan you can plug into the cigarette lighter helps a lot, the bigger the better.
17. Kids/pets can't handle it as well as you. Popcicles help a lot.
18. Bring too much gas, too much ice (summer), too much money, and a few bags of cookies. If you have space left over stuff other gear in there.
19. Try to stay calm. Freaking out doesn't help and can makes a situation suddenly get much worse.
20. It really was a nightmare out of a bad sci-fi EOTW movie...
Also see
here and
here .
-Blast