HOUSTON — Texas opened two more giant centers for victims of Hurricane
Katrina on Friday after refugees filled Houston's Astrodome to capacity.
DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP
Thousands wait to be evacuated from the Superdome on Friday in New
Orleans.
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Mayor Bill White declared that the city's convention center and an
exhibition hall would accept more hurricane survivors, and conventions
for the coming weeks would be canceled.
"We see the tragedy which is ongoing in New Orleans, and we are doing
the best we can to make sure when people get to Houston they have a
decent place to stay," White said.
As shelters in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio filled up, the governor's
office reached out to the state's mid-sized cities to find additional
space.
"This is just the beginning of what will be many months," Gov. Rick
Perry said. "It will be a long effort trying to help people rebuild
their lives and get a sense of normalcy, safety in what is a very trying
time."
Elsewhere, officials from as far away as Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming
and Michigan said they would also accept refugees. Elected leaders were
considering various places to house them, including military barracks
and an empty shopping mall.
Perry's office announced that thousands more evacuees would be directed
to shelters in Austin, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Amarillo and El Paso.
The governor also deployed 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to provide
security and support evacuation operations.
Despite crowding at the Astrodome, more buses were being loaded Friday
at the Superdome in New Orleans, where conditions had become desperate
as thousands struggled with lack of supplies, clogged plumbing and no
air conditioning.
Holly reports relief workers in Houston and elsewhere are trying to
figure out how to accommodate thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees.
When the Astrodome filled, Katrina refugees who had finally arrived by
bus were left in limbo for more than two hours before they were
redirected to the exhibit hall.
Janetta Arnold was among those who found room at the Astrodome. She was
rescued with 13 relatives after being stranded for three days on a
hurricane-ravaged New Orleans highway.
"I was able to get a shower last night," the 36-year-old grocery store
cashier said Friday. "I am grateful for what the people here in Houston
have given us."
A wall at the stadium was crammed with scraps of paper, each showing a
written message seeking friends or relatives or telling loved ones the
writer was all right.
"Mom: If you see this...," a typical message started, then listed
instructions describing where a person could be found on the noisy
Astrodome floor, where many evacuees sat somber amid restless children
with little to do.
In San Antonio, the former Kelly Air Force Base began accepting people
on buses that were turned away from the Astrodome. Up to 7,000 people
could be accommodated in an air-conditioned office building and
warehouse.
Plans were being made for alternative sites in San Antonio once those
buildings filled.
As people arrived, they were given pink lemonade and allowed to use
portable restrooms. Others arrived on military helicopters directly from
New Orleans and were met by people with food and medicine.
Many refugees showed up hot, dazed and exhausted. They are given
toothbrushes, soap, washcloths and other toiletries when they signed in.
Aides questioned them about health needs.
Inside the Astrodome, doctors had trouble keeping up with everyone
needing treatment.
"Many people might think there are enough people here, and there are
not. We just need help," said Dr. Steven Glorsky, who had treated
evacuees for heart attacks, open wounds and diabetes. "We have a crisis
in there."
A few people were arrested in the Astrodome, although Sheriff Tommy
Thomas did not have an exact count. He said some men were arrested for
going into the women's showers. Others were arrested for fighting over
cots.
Dr. Stuart C. Yudofsky, chairman of psychiatry at Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston, said about 30 psychiatrists from around Houston are
assisting with the mental health needs of those staying inside the
Astrodome.
"The Astrodome was designed to have maybe 20,000 people for six hours at
the most for something upon which they are all focused," Yudofsky said.
"To be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for an indeterminate
period of time, that experiment has never been run - and we are trying
to do that right now."
Myron Johnson, 27, was just happy to get three meals, a cot and some
fresh clothes. The Pizza Hut worker fled his New Orleans apartment
Monday in nothing but boxer shorts, leaving behind nine relatives.
"I don't know where my family is. I'm here by myself," he said outside
Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas. He was frustrated he had not been able
to contact loved ones.
"I thank God for the good volunteers of Texas, but all they can do is
try to keep your spirits up," he said. "I just want to know that they're
OK so I can salvage the rest of my life."
The state was considering using housing vouchers to allow displaced
Louisiana residents to move into apartments, the governor's office said.
Along with Texas, other states such as Illinois and Maryland offered to
let hurricane survivors enroll their children in public schools.
In South Carolina, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn proposed housing up to 5,000
refugees in unused military barracks, an empty mall and other large
buildings in Columbia.
Johnson held out hope that he would eventually return to New Orleans.
"In my heart, I believe there will be a Big Easy again," he said. "A
better Big Easy."
Associated Press reporters Pam Easton in Houston, Matt Slagle in
Dallas, April Castro in San Antonio and Kelley Shannon in Austin
contributed to this story.
