Robert Schumake carries the American flag as he walks Sept. 24, 2005, past the statue marking the 1900 storm which destroyed Galveston, Texas. Galveston was not seriously damaged by Rita. Schumake carries the flag every day to show support for the troops.
A burned-out car sits among rubble of a building destroyed y fire in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita in Galveston, Texas, Sept. 24, 2005.
A charred tree sits among the remains of a building which burned to the ground Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005, in Galveston, Texas. Two buildings in the area were destroyed by fire as Hurricane Rita made landfall.
A Galveston Police officer puts up a barracade around the rubble from a fallen wall of the Greenleve Block & Co. building in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, Sept. 24, 2005 in Galveston, Texas. The wall collapsed as Rita made landfall.
The Texas flag blows in the wind next to the rumble from a fallen wall of the Greenleve Block & Co. building in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, Sept. 24, 2005 in Galveston, Texas.
Three buildings burn in downtown Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Rita approaches the coast, Sept. 23, 2005. As the storm approached, at least three buildings caught fire in the city's historic Strand District of nightclubs, shops and restaurants. It was unclear what caused the blaze, but a fallen electrical pole was lying on one of the buildings. High winds whipped the flames from structure to structure.
Clouds roll in over a statue commemorating the 1900 hurricane, before Hurricane Rita approaches in Galveston, Texas, Sept. 23, 2005. A mass exodus from the deadly threat of Hurricane Rita emptied towns along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines Friday, amid frantic last-minute preparations for the second super-storm in a month.
Brittany Feazell sits on a school bus as she waits to be evacuated ahead of Hurricane Rita Sept. 22, 2005, in Galveston, Texas. Hurricane Rita is expected to hit the Texas coast near Galveston early Saturday morning. Most of Galveston and much of nearby Houston has been evacuated.
Francisco Gonzalez, left, and Fred Weaver, right, boarded up windows as they prepared to evacuate Galveston, Texas, as Hurricane Rita headed for the Texas coast Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005.
The sun rises over the Gulf of Mexico as seen from the beach in Galveston, Texas, as Hurricane Rita headed for the Texas Gulf Coast Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005.
A man tapes the inside of windows in the Artist's Lofts in Galveston, Texas, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in preparation for Hurricane Rita.
Paul Carpenter finishes boarding up the old Galveston News building in Galveston, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in preparation for Hurricane Rita.
An empty Post Office Street in Galveston, Texas is shown on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, as Hurricane Rita approached. The coastal city of 58,000, situated on an island 8 feet above sea level, was nearly wiped off the map in 1900 when an unnamed hurricane killed between 6,000 and 12,000.
David Carroll waves to a neighbor as he sits on his porch as Hurricane Rita heads for the Texas Gulf Coast Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in Galveston, Texas. Carroll plans to stay at a friend's home on the island as the hurricane hits.
Light traffic drives down Seawall Boulevard next to an empty beach in Galveston, Texas, as Hurricane Rita approaches on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005.
Tamara and Stephen Johnson try to pass the time by reading at a Hurricane Relief shelter at Windsor Park Mall, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in San Antonio, after evacuating the Galveston area on Wednesday. The couple originally fled with a group of friends, but when their truck broke, just 30 minutes into the trip, they were forced to hitchhike.
Evacuees from the Houston and Galveston areas are seen moving along Interstate 45, with all lanes traveling northbound in advance of Hurricane Rita, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, near Corsicana, Texas.
Michel Soler watches as the waves cover the beach in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Rita churns in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, Sept. 23, 2005.