There's got to be a better way....

Isn't it ironic that an area which has the largest concentration of oil refineries in North America (the Gulf coast of Texas) can't provide enough gas for the residents of the area trying to escape hurricane Rita? I've been reading stories of people trying to escape Houston by car and running out of gas long before reaching their destination. These cars are blocking highways, forcing even more people to run out of gas. One woman didn't find gas until she reached San Antonio - almost 200 miles (320km) away, normally a 3 hour drive that took about 8 hours. Update: another family travelled from Houston to Palestine Texas (170 miles or 274km) in 30 hours. They still had 1/4 tank left. They were driving a Prius hybrid.

In light of the fact that these oil refineries are shut down until Rita passes - which will create yet another gas crisis, maybe it's time to consider that permanently located industrial facilities (like refineries) are no longer viable and must be designed to be movable under certain circumstances. Either that, or they have to be built to be hurricane-proof. Or someone has to do more to deal with the kind of mandatory evacuations that are being forced upon these residents.