If it's a Category 3 at landfall, it's equivalent to 25 Category 1s.
At this point, Rita has become a potentially very devastating Category 5 hurricane. Fortunately it's over the open ocean of the Gulf of Mexico, and will be over the open ocean for the next day. But we expect it to gradually make a turn to the north.
It's almost certain it will make landfall as a major hurricane -- Category 3 or Category 4.