Posted on 09/02/2005 10:29:18 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Houston Mayor Bill White has authorized opening Reliant Center to as many as 11,000 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina.
He said he also has authorized the opening of the George R. Brown Convention Center, if needed.
The George R. Brown is not open this morning, however, and evacuees should not go there because it is not set up for occupation.
``The City of Houston and this region will use its capacity to care for tens of thousands of families," the mayor said. "We will be making assessments daily of our community capacity. We do need other cities to be accepting busloads of people.''
Reliant Center can take 11,000 people, the mayor said.
``We want this exhibition hall open right now," the mayor said. "If it entails someone suing us, then OK.," the mayor said. "Then (they can) explain to the American public why.''
Buses today are not being turned away from Astrodome, and there are still people onsite waiting to be processed. About 1,750 refugees who arrived on about 35 buses early this morning were initially told they would be turned away.
Officials said 22,000 evacuees have come to Houston so far and been processed: 15,000 in the Astrodome, 3,000 in Reliant Arena and 4,000 to local shelters.
White said he's concerned about getting the people into a safe and comfortable situation where they can live with dignity. The city is searching local stores and other sources for cots, blankets and other supplies to house the evacuees.
Nearly 13,000 evacuees from New Orleans filled Reliant Astrodome by early this morning, with officials saying the facility was full. But buses from New Orleans kept coming, and arrangements were made to place them in nearby Reliant Arena.
More buses showed up this morning, and remain parked outside the Astrodome. Although many people are being allowed off the buses and are standing in lines outside Reliant Arena, many remain on the buses.
Volunteers who pull into the parking lot to deliver supplies -- such as soap, towels and other items for personal hygiene -- are being mobbed by small crowds of evacuees.
The number in the Astrodome is about half of the estimated 25,000 relief officials said would be sheltered in that building. Officials early this morning would not say whether they would still be able to accommodate that many.
The U.S. Postal Service announced this morning that evacuees at the Astrodome will be able to receive mail as early as Saturday.
The service created a special ZIP code to handle the mail: 77230.
Anyone who thinks they may have a friend or loved one sheltered at the Astrodome should address letters by name, with the address General Delivery, Houston, TX 77230.
The mail that comes in will be at the north ticket area at an onsite trailer, said Cliff Rucker, district manager for the U.S. Postal Service in Houston.
Rucker also said because of limited mail delivery in some ZIP codes in Louisiana, mail that cannot be delivered there has been diverted to Houston and will be processed, sorted and held here until addresses in those ZIP codes are available for service.
On the Dome floor this morning, areas that previously had been used for clothing lines and other organizational purposes were cleared away for more cots. Breakfast was being served, with evacuees eating grits, waffles and sausage.
Also outside Reliant Arena the, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was checking in animals.
One of the animals checked in was a five-year-old golden retriever mix named Precious. She and her owner swam for two days to escape the flooding. She was being loaded into a carrier that will be taken to the SPCA, which has taken in 300-400 animals onsite.
``You can tell these past events have started taking a toll. Some people have realized they may not be able to care for them (the pets). That's the sad part,'' said Jim Boller, director of shelter and field services for the SPCA.
Most of the animals they are seeing show signs of stress and dehydration.
Late Thursday, the Dome was closed as its population of evacuees 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." At that time, passengers on one of five buses at the gate were allowed in. But then about 30 more buses arrived.
Shortly after midnight, Houston Police Sgt. Nate McDuell said those remaining buses would be allowed in. Some were sent to Reliant Arena.
Officials at the dome complex also put out a request for more volunteers to help, as well as medical personnel. Many of the evacuees are dehydrated, sick or suffering from other physical problems.
Dr. Douglas Hamilton of the Baylor College of Medicine said some people have died on the buses en route, and many are very ill. He said he has treated people with with renal failure, bipolar disorder, psychosis and congestive heart failure.
"They all need medication, and they did not have it with them," Hamilton said.
``Many people might think there are enough people here and there are not. We just need help. It's the kind of help doctors know how to give and we need it right now,'' said Dr. Steven Glorsky of Houston. ``We have a crisis in there.''
Glorsky said doctors inside were having trouble keeping up the pace with the number of people coming through who need treatment. He said he had treated heart attacks, open wounds and people who shouldn't have been released from hospital care in New Orleans.
The decision to close the Astrodome only added to the frustration of victims like Patricia Profit, who had relatives already inside the stadium.
``Before we left New Orleans, they said everybody will be in the Astrodome,'' said Profit as she stood outside one of the buses. ``'Don't panic, don't worry, you'll still be with your family.' That's what they told us. Now we can't be with our family.''
Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced that Dallas would host 25,000 more refugees at Reunion Arena and 25,000 others would relocate to a San Antonio warehouse at KellyUSA, a city-owned complex that once was home to an Air Force base.
Earlier Thursday, officials cited health and safety issues for limiting the number of evacuees.
"As people were coming and supplies were coming and the cots were being laid out, we realized we could accommodate fewer than we earlier thought," said Liese Hutchison, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross said late Thursday.
Organizers said they wanted to prevent a repeat of the conditions at the Superdome.
"We're not going to take people from one miserable situation in New Orleans and put them in another one here," 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!" said Angel Alegria. "Welcome to Houston! I hope a hurricane comes to Houston!"
One New Orleans evacuee died Thursday at Reliant Astrodome, a city spokesman said. A woman, who was between 60 and 70, suffered a heart attack, said Patrick Trahan, a spokesman for Mayor Bill White. Trahan said health officials told him that the woman said she was undergoing treatment for cancer. Her identity was not released Thursday night.
No other details about the death or the woman were available.
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.
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 backed off from their earlier announcement that only Superdome evacuees would be admitted.
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 Margaret O'Brien-Molina, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross' Southwest Service Area.
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 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.
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.
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, County Judge Robert Eckels said.
Chronicle reporters Anne Marie Kilday and Zeke Minaya contributed to this report.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
bill.murphy@chron.com leigh.hopper@chron.com
Thanks for the pics. That light beam looks like a phaser beam. That's the first time since the roof was closed that sunlight has been seen inside the dome. The arena looks just unbelieveable. But this is an unbelieveable situation. Just can't imagine having to tolerate those conditions. Just so sad.
Prayers and support for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
I'm SURE Hillary would be glad to help. How about we also send several to the islands owned by John Kerry's family off the coast of Cape Cod?
http://www.nationalreview.com/geraghty/geraghty200404010835.asp
Most Texans are not "scared to death" and we are fully aware that there are going to be some bad folks that we are going to have to deal with during this crisis. I still find it somewhat amusing that so many others from abroad seem to think we are a bunch of country bumpkins or something. You yourself stated you "fear that the Texans are naive".
We have problems in Houston with the kind of punks that prey upon society too, but we deal with them more harshly than New Orleans does. I completely agree with you about some of the bad elements that are now entering Houston. Again... We are not naive about it. The only other alternative is NOT to help these folks because some of them are going to be a handful. Regardless of the down side for Texans, that is simply not an option at this time. We have to do this. It is the right thing to do.
We DO have armed guards. As I explained earlier, our citizens are armed too. We simply will not tolerate the criminal behavior that New Orleans does.
How's this for naive... My friends, family, and even the church folk I have talked to all seem to agree that in two or three weeks these refugees from Katrina will start to become very restless. Heck, some of these folks started complaining as soon as they got off of the buses at the Astrodome! Many are truly grateful for the help, and some will be grateful only temporarily, and some are already planning how and where they can continue their lives of crime. We know full well that the ones that have lived off of the welfare state all of their lives will become restless and ungrateful. They will scream that we (Houstonians and Texas) have not done ENOUGH for them. Most all of us know that there will be some major problems coming in the very near future with some of these folks and we will be forced deal with it at that time. We hope that most folks will remain grateful for the help and look forward to returning to their home state whenever they can. And now thanks to the media, the refugees from Katrina (who are mostly black) are now going to be bombarded with Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the Black Caucus etc... trying to turn this into a race issue. Hearing that crap for weeks on end is only going to help make the situation here in Houston and abroad worse.
No one I have talked to thinks that this is going to be a cake walk. The logistics of helping these people is going to be a HUGE challenge, but it is in the Texan nature to meet the challenge head on and help these folks out.
Again we really do appreciate the concern and we will definitely watch out for the "church ladies." Both my mother and wife are members. LOL! And if they and their church want to take some of these folks on a field trip, they will do so with my blessing AND also do so under the watchful eyes of myself, my sons and my father.
And I'm proud that Texans are stepping up to the plate. I just wish more of them had been to New Orleans before the evacuation...and I don't mean the French Quarter. That would help them know never to let down their guard.
As you buy your own groceries, Walmart supplies, etc., buy extra and take it down to a Salvation Army or other Disaster Relief donation center. Everyone can do something. And even if it is a little thing, it will mean everything to someone.
That said... Keep the victims of Katrina, the rest of our Country's citizens and authorities that are helping, and the citizens of Texas in your thoughts and prayers, we are ALL going to need them...
We have about 150 evacuees at a church a few block away from us. All of my household (myself, the wife, and the two kids) have all donated clothes, toys, diapers, food, etc. My wife just dropped off about 10 bags of stuff within the hour, with more on the way.
They were VERY appreciative of my 6 pairs of shoes that I donated.
As for the ingrates: There's always that 5-10 percent in EVERY crowd, but all we've seen have been nothing but thankful.
I didn't mean to imply that you think so either. I stated "so many others from abroad" when I mentioned country bumpkins. You clearly said "naive", which to me implies a kind of "innocence." That is what I was addressing as far as your comments are concerned.
"...it occurs that you are seeking offence where none is offered".
No... I stated that I was "somewhat amused". No offense taken at all. :-)
"I think Houston is more like America and NO is more like Haiti."
Not going there... LOL!
"I just wish more of them had been to New Orleans before the evacuation...and I don't mean the French Quarter. That would help them know never to let down their guard."
Many of us have been to the bad parts of New Orleans. It is not that far of a drive. Many of us have had to work out that way etc... I myself have even worked in the Hunter's Point Housing Projects in San Francisco for several years.
Have you ever been to the "bad parts" of Houston or Dallas? New Orleans does not have a monopoly on human pond scum. We simply don't have it as bad as New Orleans precisely because we do know how to handle these types of folks and are not afraid to do so. Every time we execute one of these dirt bags, Texas is pounded in the media by the liberal left bleeding heart types. We simply don't give a rip because we know what happens when you don't prosecute criminals and punish them with an iron fist... They get out of jail and then commit crimes again! Why other states and big cities haven't figured this out yet is beyond me...
I am not saying that we will not have some problems with crime as a direct result of this crisis. But I guarantee you we will deal with it!
But we wouldn't want people stumbling across military secrets.
I took time to count what buses were visible in the photo. There is 203 buses. So depending upon, the buses actual capacity (varies depending upon bus style, is anywhere from 48-84 passengers and does not include luggage) some 10,000 - 17,000 people could have been evacuated with just these buses alone.
Does anyone know how many buses the NO school system actually has? And what about their mass transit system, how many do they have? We could also include the surrounding suburbs as well.
Roughly 10,000 ---- 17000 people could have been evacuated using the buses in this pic.
This is only counting the visible buses and just think how many mass transit buses the city must have had that they could used.
I wonder if Bayou Bob is still hiring illegals, rather than biving these people a chance at some work. Maybe instead of picking up illegals on streetcorners, some of these contractors can go to the Dome etc and see if anyone wants a job.
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