(September 24, 2007)—Monday is the second anniversary of Hurricane Rita.

The Category Three storm made landfall near Sabine Pass on Sept. 24, 2005.

Rita also ruined every structure in the southwestern Louisiana towns of Johnson Bayou and Holly Beach.

Authorities say overall about 100 people died in Texas, including 23 senior citizens whose bus exploded in fire near Dallas during the evacuations.

The storm caused no fatalities in Louisiana, but plenty of property damage in Cameron and Vermilion parishes.

An insurance group says in all, there were $5.8 billion in property insurance claims in Texas and Louisiana.

Dozens of Texas school district had to close after Rita.

The last Texas school district to reopen was Deweyville, where classes didn’t resume until Nov. 25, 2005.

Deweyville is about 40 miles north of where Rita came ashore.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday it has provided more than $914 million in public assistance funding for debris removal and repairs of damaged infrastructure in Texas and Louisiana, and more than $1.13 billion to more than 400,000 households in the two states, most of which paid for rental assistance, temporary lodging and home repairs.

“While many people associate the 2005 hurricane season with Katrina, Hurricane Rita also left a trail of devastation,” said Gil Jamieson, FEMA’s Associate Deputy Administrator for Gulf Coast Recovery.

“We are there for those communities as they recover and rebuild, and we will be there for them until the job is complete.”

Click Here For FEMA Web Site

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