Storm's Eye Hits Land Near Texas-Louisiana Border

Storm's Eye Hits Land Near Texas-Louisiana Border

BEAUMONT, Tex., Sept. 24 -­ Hurricane Rita made landfall early today near the Texas-Louisiana border, raking the region with up to 120 mile per hour winds, dumping more than two feet of rain and sending 20-foot storm surges crashing onto coastal areas.

Officials at the National Hurricane Center said that Rita officially made landfall about 3:40 a.m. EST with the storm's eye hitting just east of Sabine Pass, Tex., about 32 miles southeast of Beaumont.
As the eye of the storm came ashore, the winds blew out windows at the hurricane command center here, ripped up trees and brought down power lines, leaving at least 250,000 customers without power. The storm was blamed for at least three fires in Beaumont -- one in the north end of town and two in the port area.

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