...RITA BECOMES THE THIRD MOST INTENSE HURRICANE ON RECORD...
DROPSONDE DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT AT 623 PM CDT...2323Z...INDICATED THE CENTRAL PRESSURE HAS
FALLEN TO BELOW 899 MB...OR 26.55 INCHES. THE DROPSONDE INSTRUMENT
MEASURED 32 KT/35 MPH WINDS AT THE SURFACE...WHICH MEANS IT LIKELY
DID NOT RECORD THE LOWEST PRESSURE IN THE EYE OF RITA. THE CENTRAL
PRESSURE IS PROBABLY AT LEAST AS LOW AS 898 MB...AND PERHAPS EVEN
LOWER. FOR OFFICIAL PURPOSES... A PRESSURE OF 898 MB IS ASSUMED...
WHICH NOW MAKES RITA THE THIRD MOST INTENSE HURRICANE IN TERMS OF
PRESSURE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN. SOME ADDITIONAL DEEPENING AND
INTENSIFICATION IS POSSIBLE FOR THE NEXT 12 HOURS OR SO.
RITA CURRENTLY RANKS BEHIND HURRICANE GILBERT IN 1988 WITH 888 MB
AND THE 1935 LABOR DAY HURRICANE WITH 892 MB.
As far as biggest damage to the Internet goes, the obvious target is
Houston. Most southern crosscountry paths go right through it, and many
networks rely on it heavily in the construction of their rings heading
north.
At least Google doesn't seem to think it would be that bad in terms of
flooding and storm surge:
But if the power can't be sustained etc a lot of networks are in for a
world of hurt. Looks like folks buying longhaul from (3) may be the best
positioned as far as Houston goes, it looks like traffic from Atlanta and
further north would go directly in to Dallas as a primary path.
The current hurricane forcast path continues past Houston, through central
Texas and past Dallas/Fort-Worth. While the hurricane will weaken after
it makes landfall, the possibility of thunderstorms, tornadoes and other
destructive weather exists along its path.
As far as telelcommnications, Houston is more important than New Orleans.
And Dallas is probably more important than Houston. But that's why you
build diversity and redundancy.
Houston is inland. Hopefully after Allison and the Houston floods in
2001, folks have learned where to locate generators and critical
equipment. But there is always a limit to how prepared you can
be. 24/72/168 hours of backup power? Some Gulf Coast telecommunication
buildings were completely destroyed down to their building foundation.
But facilities can be rebuilt. People are a different story. Remote
monitoring should keep you up to date about the facility's status, while
you re-locate your staff to a safe location. If you want cool pictures,
leave a web camera in a window and evacuate. Pictures aren't worth your
life.