";s:4:"text";s:6709:" We were hosting countless Katrina evacuees here in Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana in area hotels, churches and public buildings. Hurricane Rita slammed into Texas and Louisiana early Saturday, smashing windows, sparking fires and knocking power out to more than 1 million customers.The swirling waters of Lake Charles lap onto the shore in the port city of Lake Charles, La., following landfall of Hurricane Rita, Sept. 24, 2005.An emergency vehicle is seen rushing by the broken-out windows of a downtown business in Lake Charles, La., following landfall of Hurricane Rita Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005.Sailboats are tossed against a railroad track near downtown Lake Charles, La., Saturday, Sept. 24, 2006, as Hurricane Rita continues to make landfall.Mitzi Hodge inspects downtown Lake Charles, La., early on Saturday Sept. 24, 2005. Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico beating Hurricane Katrina and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
It was a crazy and devastating time in the state of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina forever altered the landscape of south Louisiana.
It had top winds of 120 mph and warnings of up to 25 inches of rain, the National Hurricane Center said.A semi-truck is stopped on a bridge after high winds damaged it in Lake Charles, La., after Hurricane Rita pushed ashore, Sept. 24, 2005.A pier and boathouse are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, Sept. 24, 2005, along Shell Beach Drive, in Lake Charles, La.Sailboats are tossed about near the port city of Lake Charles, La., Sept. 24, 2005, as Hurricane Rita continues to pass.The swirling waters of Lake Charles surround Harrah's floating casino in the port city Lake Charles, La., following landfall of Hurricane Rita, Sept. 24, 2005.High water covers a trailer and a shed in the port city of Lake Charles, La., after Hurricane Rita pushed ashore, Sept. 24, 2005.The roof is peeled off the Best Value Inn & Suites in Kinder, La., Sept. 24, 2005.Emergency workers cut a path down U.S. 165 from Kinder, La., making one lane for a convoy of police and emergency vehicles led by an armored personnel carrier as they make their way to Lake Charles following landfall of Hurricane Rita, Sept. 24, 2005. Hurricane-force winds were experienced from Port Arthur, Texas eastward to Mobile, Alabama. Swirling flood waters of Lake Charles surround an entrance to the Harrah's casinos in Lake Charles, La., following landfall of Hurricane Rita Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005. Aerial photo taken from U.S. Coast Guard helicopter shows lone cow walking in floodwaters in Creole, La., Sept. 24, 2005, in aftermath of Hurricane Rita.Donovan Patout, left, Stephan White, center and Rusty Broussard rescue three dogs from friend's home near New Iberia, La., as floods from Hurricane Rita cover road Sept. 24, 2005.Carlyss Fire Department Captain Andy Clopton,left, 33, consoles Dale LeDoux, 55, as LeDoux watches his home of five years burn to ground in Sulphur, La., Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005. Hurricane Rita slammed into Texas and Louisiana early Saturday, smashing windows, sparking fires and knocking power out to more than 1 million customers, but largely sparing vulnerable Houston and already reeling New Orleans and the region's vital oil refining industry.Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office assistant warden Vince Conde walks across a debris-covered street Saturday morning, Sept. 24, 2005, in Crowley, La. Aerial photo taken from U.S. Coast Guard helicopter shows lone cow walking in floodwaters in Creole, La., Sept. 24, 2005, in aftermath of Hurricane Rita.Donovan Patout, left, Stephan White, center and Rusty Broussard rescue three dogs from friend's home near New Iberia, La., as floods from Hurricane Rita cover road Sept. 24, 2005.Carlyss Fire Department Captain Andy Clopton,left, 33, consoles Dale LeDoux, 55, as LeDoux watches his home of five years burn to ground in Sulphur, La., Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005. Hurricane Rita slammed into Texas and Louisiana early Saturday, smashing windows, sparking fires and knocking power out to more than 1 million customers, but largely sparing vulnerable Houston and already reeling New Orleans and the region's vital oil refining industry.Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office assistant warden Vince Conde walks across a debris-covered street Saturday morning, Sept. 24, 2005, in Crowley, La.