Not long after Katrina, category 5 storm Rita prompted an evacuation of large portions of Houston. The storm unexpectedly made landfall near Beaumont on September 24, 2005. More than 400 inmates in the maximum-security unit at USP Beaumont went days without food, running water, and air conditioning, their cells flooding with sewage as temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees. Prisoners who were forced to ride out the hurricane and its aftermath under these conditions filed suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), alleging prison officials were negligent for failing to evacuate them or provide proper care after the storm hit.