Posted on 09/01/2005 9:48:17 PM PDT by bayourod
Officials closed the Reliant Astrodome to further New Orleans evacuees late Thursday, shortly before five more busloads arrived.
Although the passengers initially were told they would have to reboard the buses and go to Huntsville, officials relented and allowed at least one busload of 67 passengers to stay. The fate of the other four buses was still being considered late Thursday.
Houston Police Sgt. Nate McDuell said the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office ordered that no more evacuees be accepted.
"We're at capacity and buses are being diverted to other cities and other shelters," McDuell said.
Tired, distraught passengers got off the buses and shouted angrily as police officers told them they could not stay.
"We've got sick people in here and this is how you treat us!" one man shouted. "Welcome to Houston! I hope a hurricane comes to Houston!"
Passengers, some carrying babies, complained that they had made the long ride in unair-conditioned buses and were exhausted. One elderly man was placed in an ambulance and taken to a triage site.
"This is just one of those things," said Red Cross spokeswoman Dana Allen. "We're doing the best we can."
The Dome was closed as its population of refugees from New Orleans swelled to 11,375, said Andrew Biar, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said the decision was made "for the safety and comfort of the people who are now in the Astrodome."
Officials said chaotic conditions in New Orleans delayed transport of hurricane victims who have spent days in the Superdome there, with no electric power and few necessities.
Some of the first 2,000 evacuees who reached the Astrodome late Wednesday and early Thursday weren't from the Superdome, and county officials backtracked from their earlier announcement that only Superdome evacuees would be admitted.
Most of the new arrivals late Thursday were those who had boarded buses at or near the Superdome, said Liese Hutchinson, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross, which is handling some operations at the shelter under county supervision.
FEMA will reimburse the local expenses, officials said.
The Astrodome was not open to refugees who came to Houston before or shortly after Katrina made landfall.
Without such a policy, there would have been no space for evacuees fleeing the worsening conditions in New Orleans, said O'Brien-Molina.
Three hundred evacuees to be housed at the Dome were coming on two flights from Louisiana. Another 1,900 were to take an Amtrak train to Lafayette, La., and then board buses for Houston, said Rita Obey, spokeswoman for the county Public Health and Environmental Services Department.
But most made the whole trip in chartered and school buses. Late in the afternoon, tired, sad-looking riders filled four yellow West Baton Rouge Parish school buses that pulled up to the Dome.
Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas said his department was watching for a few New Orleans municipal jail inmates who may have found their way into the Superdome evacuation. They were brought to the Superdome as conditions worsened at the city jail but could not be accounted for later.
Thomas said the inmates were only minor offenders.
The relief effort at the Dome remained a work in progress.
A 100,000-square-foot medical clinic set up in the Astroarena was nearly overwhelmed on its first day.
The clinic, which is seeking more volunteer doctors and nurses, saw 400 patients by
5 p.m. Nearly 50 people were sent to emergency rooms.
Aramark, the concessionaire at Reliant Park, is feeding evacuees from buffet tables on a concourse.
But not all was calm. One man was arrested after fighting over a cot. Two others were arrested after peeping into a women's shower. Two of the four locker rooms at the Dome are for women, two for men.
State and local education officials were making plans to hold classes for evacuee children at the Dome or bus them to schools, Eckels said.
IMHO...
One problem according to TV 13 is that food is only allowed to come in through Aramark.
Restaurants and other sources are offering food and it is being refused.
That is why they can't take anymore, the Astrodome Jail is taking up so much space.
Prison would probably be far better. In prison they have to give you so many square feet of space and regular access to food, water, sanitation, and medical services.
******
Thank you for saving our lives, you *astards. /sarcasm
When you are told to LEAVE TOWN because a category 5 hurricane is headed your way maybe you should LISTEN and not tell people to F off.
Maybe if some of your closest friends hadn't stolen buses and beat you there you would have a place to stay.
They are taking them to other shelters. It's not like they don't have somewhere else to go.
Well, for what it's worth, they're now diverting buses from the Astrodome to Huntsville, TX.
If you're not a Texan, you wouldn't know this, but Huntsville is where the Texas Dept. of Corrections is located, and a number of our state prisons are there.
I'm sure they'll be putting the evacuees in better digs than that, but I did wonder for a minute.
Time to open up abandoned or current military bases in any state!
Hey, the "best you can" is never going to cut it for some.
That's the crop you get when you sew entitlement from cradle to grave.
Whomever is running mess deserves a swift kick in the ass.
With armed military guards until residents prove they're not trouble makers.
Rev. Jesse Jackson (who expects to arrive in New Orleans several hours from now) was on Larry King Live, and he said the reports of looting, sniper fire and other crimes were being "exaggerated." Larry asked him if an event like this causes him to question his faith, and Jackson said it doesn't, but he does ask himself questions about global warming and its impact on hurricanes.
I'm getting the same feeling I got during the Rodney King riots.
In a sense I can understand the uh refugees' exasperation especially those with children or elderly to care for and I think there but for the Grace of God. But now I am finding I am getting just a little tired of seeing them getting up in the faces of those trying to help. Maybe it's a case of 'No good deed goes unpunished'.
Disgusting..... truly disgusting.
Mind you, these are the dumbest of the dumb; or looters.
The dumbest of the dumb because they arrived at their sorry state due to total lack of effort, ambition, initiative nd work. But they have the liberal virus. They know their rights and demand comfort and air conditioned transportation.
In this guy's case, "Stupid is, as stupid does".
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