New Zealand running legend Peter Snell says Texans are bracing for Hurricane Rita, with evacuees flooding inland.
While the storm has weakened, the Gulf Coast is still on alert and more than a million people are evacuating, causing huge traffic jams. Texas is expected to bear the brunt of Rita, but storm rains also threaten New Orleans' newly repaired flood defences.
Snell, a three-time Olympic Gold medalist is now living in Dallas and working for the University of Texas, says it is creepy waiting for the hurricane to arrive.
He says evacuees are streaming into the city, with virtually everyone he knows housing someone and hotels and motels fully booked. Snell says after Hurricane Katrina got everyone's attention, emergency agencies seem well prepared this time.
Texas has urged the United States government to put 10,000 troops on standby for search and rescue work, as Rita approaches.
The National Hurricane Center says Rita has weakened, but remains extremely dangerous and at least as powerful as Hurricane Katrina, which hit last month.
