So Long Rita

Texas and Louisiana began clearing up the mess left by Hurricane Rita Sunday as crews worked to restore electricity to more than 1 million customers in four states. Residents also said a prayer of thanks that it wasn't worse. Fueled by the warm waters in the gulf, Rita had at one point grown to immense size, a Category V, hurricane and set her sights on Houston. The threat of the immense storm set of an unprecedented evacuation of the nation's 4th largest city.

In her fury, Rita downed trees, caused fires across the hurricane zone and flooded coastal towns with a 15-foot storm surge. While the havoc was serious, residents of The Lone Star State remained unbowed. "There's none of that just-down-to-the-foundation devastation that we saw out of Mississippi" after Katrina, Texas Gov. Rick Perry told the Associated Press. So far, only one death had been reported, where a tornado in Mississippi overturned a mobile home.