Galveston County Daily News, June 11, 2007 Guest Viewpoint by Ivan Arceneaux GALVESTON -- ZIP codes had nothing to do with hurricanes until June 1, the official beginning of this hurricane season. Galveston, Brazoria and Harris counties plan to be evacuated by ZIP code areas, beginning first by those on the coastline. That's the present plan for hurricane evacuation. The latest prediction is that 2007 will have more than the usual number of hurricanes. Andrea, the first named storm, arrived before June 1 and the second, Barry, hit the Florida coast on the first day of hurricane season. Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas already predicted two years ago that, inevitably, a major hurricane will hit Galveston. "It's when, not if." I join the whole world in congratulating Galveston's mayor for the most successful evacuation in modern history, especially as I was one of those at every hurricane preparedness meeting who proclaimed that Galveston could never be evacuated. Perhaps because of the graphic pictures of the plight of the people in New Orleans who did not evacuate for Katrina, Galvestonians heeded the mandatory evacuation declaration of Mayor Thomas and County Judge Jim Yarbrough. What I thought couldn't be done happened. People who could evacuate early in their private vehicles did so. More than 3,000 special needs and elderly residents were successfully evacuated by public transportation through the effective efforts of the Mayor's Citizens Response Team, assisted by Galveston County Interfaith and other groups. The University of Texas Medical Branch evacuated its entire hospital and staff down to the latest newborn baby in an unprecedented example of doing what had to be done.