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Rita forces 1m to evacuate
A state of emergency has been declared in Texas and Louisiana as Hurricane Rita heads towards the US Gulf Coast bringing winds of up to 165mph.
Just three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, more than one million people have started a mass evacuation of the costal areas of the neighbouring states.
Hurricane Rita passed by the Florida Keys leaving minimal damage, with evacuated residents starting to return on Wednesday and visitors advised they could return from tomorrow.
But the hurricane has been upgraded to Category Five, with meteorologists claiming it could be the the most intense to ever hit Texas and one of the most powerful ever seen on the US mainland, the BBC reported.
Hurricane Rita is due to hit landfall on Saturday, leaving little time for residents of Galveston, Corpus Christi and parts of Houston to evacuate.
There are also concerns that the hurricane could further hit oil supplies and send prices up due to the high number of oil rigs and refineries in the region.
More than 1,000 people have been confirmed dead from Hurricane Katrina, the majority in Louisiana.
Report by Phil Davies
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