Roads Jammed, Fuel Concerns Rise on Rita's Landfall

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urricane Rita moved closer to the Texas-Louisiana border early Friday, and traffic on regional highways were gridlocked with people attempting to evacuate from coastal areas, the Associated Press reported.

Many oil refineries in the region could be taken offline by the storm, and 10% of U.S. refining capacity could be affected, news reports said.

The Minerals Management Service said Rita had already stopped refinery production of 2.2 million barrels a day of gasoline and 1.2 million bpd of distillate fuel, which includes diesel.

Interstates 10 and 45 were jammed with traffic most of the day Thursday and into Friday leaving from the Galveston and Houston areas heading north and west toward Dallas, and many people were running out of gasoline on the roads, AP and news reports said.

Texas Army National Guard trucks were escorted by police to directly provide motorists with gasoline, and the state was also working to get more than 200,000 gallons of gas to fuel-starved stations in the Houston area, AP reported.

Forecasters said Houston and Galveston, Texas, may avoid a direct hit as Rita veered slightly to the east, threatening its 140-mph Category 4 level winds at the Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, areas about 75 miles east of Houston, AP said.

The first rain bands were expected before nightfall Friday with the full fury of Rita expected into early Saturday. Forecasters warned of the possibility of a storm surge of 15 to 20 feet, battering waves and rain of up to 15 inches along the Texas-Louisiana coast.

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