Hurricane (Typhoon) in Angelina, Texas

Hurricane Rita moved onshore the Southeast Texas/Southwest Louisiana coast during the early morning hours of September 24, 2005 and moved northward into portions of East Central Texas during the predawn hours. The hurricane remained a category two storm as it moved northward into extreme eastern Angelina County, extreme southeast Nacogdoches County, San Augustine County and Sabine County Texas. A NWS Storm Survey was conducted of the hardest hit areas of East Central Texas and this region experienced widespread damage consistent of winds with a category two hurricane. A few hundred homes experienced damage that varied from shingles off roofs to collapsed carports or awnings to damage caused by downed trees on top of homes, businesses and automobiles. Particularly hard hit areas were those surveyed near and east of the Sam Rayburn Reservoir of East Central Texas. This region experienced winds adjacent to the northern and eastern eyewall of Hurricane Rita and extensive damage was observed to many rural homes and communities along the storms path. Much of this region was without power during the height of the storm. There was one direct fatality resulting from the storm when a downed tree fell across a man outside his residence. There was one indirect fatality from the storm when a young woman touched a downed powerline. A monetary amount was not available at the time of this report.