We were concerned about friends in Houston that we were unable to reach by phone. Last night they e-mailed this account of the Houston evacuation: 
The circuits are so busy...I just now got your messages.
The roads are still a total gridlock so we are staying put. People are spending 15 hours in the car and going no more than 30 miles. Some are running out of gas and having to abandon their cars on the side of the freeway (no gas to be had in this city). Others are turning back. One person's dog died in the car b/c of the heat. People are having to turn the air off to conserve on gas and in some cases are turning off the car and PUSHING it (which is possible since the traffic is moving about 1 mile per hour).
It is a mess but we feel we will be ok. We are 80 miles from the Coast so we expect heavy rains and strong winds but are not too concerned about storm surge. Flooding is always a possibility but not probable. Most everyone around here is staying and we have all the necessities!
As we have been warned for years, it is impossible to evacuate the nation's heavily coastal areas in a timely manner.
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