With Hurricane Rita expected to make landfall this weekend in Texas, University students are preparing for potential disaster.
Students from Texas said they have had difficulty getting in contact with their families back home.
"It's difficult to get in touch of them because the cell lines are down and the land lines are backed up because everyone is calling their families," second-year College student Connor Booth said. "There is so much traffic that you can't get through. The only way I am communicating through my family is e-mail, Internet, text messages."
Booth said some of his family members are taking part of the Houston evacuation.
"My sister and my grandmother are going out of town, and my parents are staying in the house," Booth said.
While Rita has been designated a category four hurricane, Booth said he isn't too concerned because he has seen risky weather in Houston before.
"I am not too worried because a couple of years ago we had a tropical storm that hit Houston," Booth said. "Everyone expected it to keep on moving, but it stopped over Houston. Lots of flooding occurred and no one expected it."
Booth said Houston seems to be preparing adequately for disastrous weather.
"The area at least is preparing this time," Booth said. "The problem with all the flooded houses wasn't even that bad, even though it was unexpected. Now people are evacuating. I'm not worried about human casualties."
Charlottesville Vice Mayor Kevin Lynch said the City will continue and possibly extend the hurricane relief efforts triggered by Hurricane Katrina last month.
"We have been working on relief efforts for the last couple of weeks since Katrina hit," Lynch said.
According to coordinators, hurricane relief efforts at the University will also continue and expand.
KARE, Katrina Aid and Relief Effort, might evolve into the College Relief Effort (CARE)," KARE co-founder Amir Shahien said. "It might expand to help raise funds for all disasters."
Shahien said the approach of Hurricane Rita is evidence that hurricanes are a recurring problem and need constant attention.
"With Rita going toward New Orleans and Texas, it just goes to show that Hurricane Katrina will be an ongoing problem, not something easily fixed," Shahien said. "You can't fix a hurricane, especially when the city is in a fragile state and it's only been a few weeks."
Shahien said Hurricane Rita will impact KARE's activities. This weekend, KARE is presenting a check to the Red Cross, he added.
"We are presenting a check to the Red Cross on Saturday somewhere near $80,000," Shahien said.
He added that this is not the climax of their Katrina efforts.
"We're raising money now and trying to coordinate through the Red Cross some actual tips down there either at Thanksgiving and Winter Break," Shahien said. "This is an issue that needs to stay in the minds of students, not just fade as a memory after a few weeks, just as disasters do."
As organized as the efforts are, Booth said it is still hard to be away from family.
"The worst thing is not being able to contact your family," Booth said. "I have a friend that hasn't talked to his in a week. Not knowing must be horrible. You start thinking the worst when you don't know."
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