U.S. Feds mount broad aid campaign for Rita
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-25 09:09

Later Saturday, Bush declared major disaster areas for the states of Texas and Louisiana.

At the FEMA briefing, Paulison warned that "most of the fatalities, most of the injuries, are after the hurricane is over," but he said that there has yet to be a reported casualty since the storm hit.

However, on Friday, a bus of Rita evacuees caught fire in gridlocked traffic south of Dallas, killing as many as 24 nursing-home residents.

Urban search and rescue teams already were in the stricken area and "we got quite a few people out," Paulison said. He said medical teams were already treating people in Houston.

Paulison said he had no assessment yet on the damage to the oil industry.

"Although the winds have died down a bit, there's still a tremendous amount of rain," he said. "There could be flooding all the way up to Arkansas."

The Energy Department said it appeared that the oil industry may have escaped major damage when the storm veered to the east and spared Galveston and Houston direct hits. The department said it was too early to assess damage to oil refineries in Beaumont-Port Arthur that were in Rita's path.

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