Beaumont. Texas. Hurricane Rita hit the Texas and Louisiana coast Saturday 24th September 2005. Although weaker than feared, the storm sparked a 4.6m surge which flooded towns along the Louisiana coastline, The towns of Port Arthur and Beaumont were among the worst affected. Power lines were downed, trees uprooted and cars tossed across roads.
Officials said that the mandatory evacuations ordered had minimised the number of deaths.
Only one person was reported to have been killed as a direct result of the hurricane.
The cost of the damage was estimated at $6bn