"Rita" began to weaken

On Thursday, a fifth, highest category of danger was given a hurricane "Rita" on Thursday. The wind speed in the center of the storm was about 280 km per hour, the American National National Center for Observation of Hurricanes said. The pressure in the epicenter of the hurricane slowly drops, which will cause further strengthening of "Rita".

However, at the moment, the hurricane "Rita" has lost part of its strength, which is why he was assigned the fourth category on the five-point Suffira-Simpson scale, the National Center for Observation of Hurricanes (Miami, USA) reports.

"At the end of the week," Rita "will bring to the south of Louisian, including the New Orleans area, up to 60 centimeters of precipitation, to the eastern part of Texas, east and the Oklahoma Center up to 25 centimeters of precipitation," Interfax told at the center of observation of hurricanes.

Officials in New Orleans warn that even the level of precipitation of three inches can lead to the destruction of protective dams. Military engineers work around the clock, trying to strengthen the dams, the newspaper The Times writes (translation on the website inopressa.ru .

The hurricane "Rita" has already become the third in the list of the most powerful in the history of observations. Only the hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and the hurricane Labor Day (1935) had lower pressure in the epicenter, that is, they were more powerful than "Rita". It is reported by CNN . The United States in its entire history first encounters hurricanes of the fourth and fifth category, following one after another for one season.

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Max Mayfield, director of the observation center for hurricanes, said that Rita could become even more destructive than Hurricane Katrina. “This is a very dangerous hurricane,” the expert said.

The hurricane moves west along the Mexican Gulf at a speed of 15 km per hour. The warm waters of the bay enhance Rita, which has already reached 600 km wide.

It is expected that the blow of a hurricane will be on Saturday to the southeast of Houston, in the area of ​​the city of Galveston.

On the eve of weather forecasters reported that in the Atlantic basin since the beginning of the hurricane season (June 1), 17 hurricanes and tropical storms that received names have already formed. Only 4 names remain in the list of meteorologists, and they are afraid that they would not have enough ordinary names until the end of the hurricane season.

The State Department called on foreigners to contact their diplomatic departments

The State Department urged all foreign citizens in the zone of the Hurricane "Rita" to contact the distributions of their countries in the United States.

"We urge all foreign citizens to contact their diplomatic missions both in the local region and here in Washington," Schon McCormak, official representative of the US State Department, said on Thursday at a briefing in Washington.

"This will help us in our efforts to assist foreign diplomatic municipality in establishing the location of their citizens," McCormak said. According to him, in the zone of the alleged blow of the hurricane "Rita", including the largest city of Texas Houston, there are 37 foreign diplomatic missions.

"We will work closely with them in terms of those steps that foreign missions can take to search for our citizens," said the representative of the State Department.

He added that the US government, in the event of a hurricane, Rita, if necessary, will also provide foreign governments with assistance in ensuring the safety of their missions. "

On the afternoon on Thursday, the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Houston announced that from September 23 it "has been working in extraordinary mode." "The resumption of regular consular services will be reported additionally," the consulate said in a statement.

Earlier, the Consul of the Russian Federation in the USA Kirill Mikhailov, by telephone, told RIA Novosti that the Russian Consulate General in Houston is associated with Russian citizens in the states of Texas and Louisiana to clarify their plans in connection with the approaching hurricane.

"We contact Russian citizens in these states to find out what their plans are in connection with the approaching hurricane," he said. According to the consul, it is currently difficult to say how many Russian citizens can be in the disaster zone. "Currently, the consulate finds out this information," said the diplomat.

George Bush announced a state of emergency in the states of Texas and Louisian

US President George Bush announced a state of emergency in the states of Texas and Louisian to provide federal assistance to the governments of these states.

In the White House, the Emergency Direct, the White House’s press service was announced to “prevent disaster” in all 254 districts of Texas and in all 64 districts of Louisian. By the order of the President, the US Department of Internal Security and the Federal Emergency Agency is ordered to closely coordinate its actions with the Texas and Louisiana authorities, and it is also allowed to use all available resources, equipment and equipment to overcome the consequences of the impact of the elements at their discretion, RIA Novosti reports.

“Today we have received another hurricane that is approaching Texas and Louisiana,” Bush said, speaking on Wednesday in Washington. "Orders on the mandatory evacuation are given to New Orleans and Galveston. I urge citizens to carefully listen to the instructions of the state authorities and local authorities and follow them," the head of the White House said.

“We pray and hope that Rita’s hurricane will not be a catastrophic storm, but we must be prepared for the worst,” the US president said.

Texas is preparing for the arrival of a hurricane: there is a mass evacuation

The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, recommended residents of the Atlantic coast of Texas to leave their homes. The state authorities plan to arrange shelters for 250 thousand seats. "You can restore houses and enterprises. You can’t return human lives. Now it's time to leave," the governor said.

In total, the order on the evacuation applies to more than 1 million people. Among them are the inhabitants of some areas of the cities of Houston and Corpsic Crist.

The mass departure of Americans from the state districts led to the emergence of large road traffic jams, Interfax reports.

The governor also ordered the increased readiness of 5,000 representatives of the National Guard and 1000 police officers.

The mayor of Houston Bil White called the inhabitants of those areas of the city that are in the lowland and can be flooded, to leave Houston. He also asked them to help those neighbors who have no opportunity to leave themselves to get out of the city.

The White House, federal officials, state authorities and local authorities assure that they have learned lessons from the situation with Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. On Wednesday evening, the poor and weak have already been evacuated from those territories on which Rita’s rags may come, and the implementation of a large -scale assistance program from the federal authorities and the military began.

Michael Chetoff, the US Minister of Internal Security, who was severely criticized for insignificant response measures to the Hurricane Katrina, said: "I think we will be ready for the strike of a hurricane."

Hundreds of trucks with drinking water and food were ready on Wednesday evening near the districts where the arrival of a hurricane is expected. In a state of increased readiness are the teams of rescuers and doctors. Patients of hospitals located in the south of Texas were evacuated.

Almost all residents of the coastal city of Galveston have already left their homes. The streets were empty, almost all shops and restaurants closed. Galveston, in which about 57 thousand people live, was badly damaged by a hurricane in 1900. Then 8 thousand people died, another 12 thousand were injured. This is considered the most deadly in the history of the USA by a disaster associated with a hurricane. The mayor of the city, Lida Ann Thomas, announced a state of emergency and organized the evacuation of nursing houses in the region. “I think the citizens have removed a lesson from the hurricane Katrina, from the fact that the inhabitants of the States of Alabam, Louisiana and the Mississippi did not leave their homes on time,” says Mayor Thomas. “We (the authorities) always ask people to leave their homes in advance, and now, after Katrina, they began to listen to us.” On Wednesday evening, two thousand poor and sick residents of Galveston were taken out of the city on buses. Officials warned the patients so that they stocked up for drugs for at least three months.

David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Agency, said that the Pentagon installed a military hospital and field kitchens in Texas per five thousand people. “We are making tremendous efforts to still keep in touch with representatives of local authorities,” says Paulison. “We make all our resources ready.”

Large mining and processing companies in the United States suspend work due to a hurricane

Large American companies, like Exxon Mobil, St.Paul Travelers and Alcoa, close the factories, as well as offices in Houston and are preparing to evacuate as the hurricane Rita approaches the coast of the United States, Interfax reports with reference to the Bloomberg agency.

Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp., BP, and a number of others stop the work of their oil producing platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil and gas Kerr-McGee Corp. announced the evacuation of all employees and termination of production.

About 30% of American oil and 24% of natural gas are produced in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the US government, on Wednesday, gas production in the Gulf of Mexico was reduced by 19% compared to the average daily level, and oil - by 35%. About 47% of gas production and 73% of oil capacities are currently closed. On average, daily oil production in the region is 1.5 million barrels of oil and 10 billion cubic feet of gas.

"Katrina led to the closure of a third of the producing capacities in the bay, and" Rita "can knock out two -thirds out of production," says Simmons Co.international Matthew Simmons.

The Alcoa aluminum manufacturer temporarily closed the clay plant in the city of Port Lavaka in Texas. The plant produces 2.3 million tons of clay per year. The largest in the United States Chemical Concern Dow Chemical announced the closure of factories along the coast of Texas. Dupont takes similar actions.

The space center in Houston is closed from behind the hurricane

Due to the hurricane "Rita" is closed by the NASA space center in Houston (Texas). Control over the International Space Station (ISS) was transferred to the Russian Tsupu. According to NASA, a small team will remain in Houston, but the center will not be open until the threat passes.

"The primary control of the station’s flight will go to the Russian flight management center in the queen. As usual, the NASA dispatcher group was sent to the Russian Control Center to help with operations," NASA said.