Landfall

Overnight, Rita made landfall near Beaumont, Texas. Towns up and down the coast were hit hard, but now the concern is that Rita will stall out and not move out of the immediate region. This means that parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana may see more than 20 inches of rain over the next few days.

The storm caused a 20-foot storm surge. There are reports of major fires in Houston, Texas, and Galveston, Texas.

One building was nearly destroyed in Galveston; two others appeared heavily damaged. A burning electric pole was lying on one of the buildings.

"It was like a war zone, shooting fire across the street," Fire Chief Michael Varela said early Saturday.

No injuries were immediately reported in either city, which were virtual ghost towns because most residents had heeded calls to evacuate. Rita made landfall more than 100 miles away early Saturday along the Texas-Louisiana line.

One of the buildings that caught fire in Galveston was built in 1905, five years after the hurricane that destroyed most of this island city and killed at least 6,000 people. The damaged buildings were a bail bonds company, a Victorian-era home, and Eagle Lodge, a former fraternal club that's now an art gallery.

But don't just take my word for it. Laurence Simon has a list of bloggers in the Texas/Louisiana area that are blogging this storm from the epicenter. Go check 'em out since they've got a better view of this storm than I do.

Technorati: flood aid; hurricane katrina; hurricane rita; katrina aid; new orleans, rita, galveston, lake charles, levee; beaumont; port arthur; levee breach.